Chapter Summaries

Fred and George brought Professor Snape’s disgusting Christmas gift for Albert to the Gryffindor Common Room, where Harry decided to pass it on to Draco Malfoy. The package horrified the Malfoy family, and Snape later confirmed that he had sent it to Albert, not Draco.

• Fred and George showed Percy, Harry, and Ron the package Snape had sent Albert, and Percy opened it to find potion ingredients and a recipe.
• The group discovered the ingredients included live cockroaches and other disgusting items, then Harry asked Fred to request the gift from Albert so he could send it to Malfoy.
• Albert agreed, and Harry arranged for Draco Malfoy to receive the package at Malfoy Manor.
• Narcissa had Dobby open the suspicious package, releasing a swarm of cockroaches and causing chaos in the manor.
• Draco recognized Snape’s handwriting on the note, and Snape replied that the gift was intended for Albert, leaving him puzzled about how it had reached Draco.

Dumbledore visited Nicholas and Perenal, who discussed Albert’s intelligence and their decision to give up the Philosopher’s Stone. Nicholas and Perenal planned to save some Elixir of Life before gradually accepting death, while Dumbledore said he still needed to help Harry.

• Dumbledore arrived at Nicholas and Perenal’s home and learned that Nicholas had been speaking with Albert through the Two-way Mirror.
• Nicholas told Dumbledore that Albert suspected Professor Quirrell was under the Imperius Curse and was trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Nicholas said he hoped Albert would inherit his knowledge, and Perenal and Nicholas revealed that they had decided to relinquish the Stone and eventually die naturally.
• Dumbledore declined to retire, explaining that Harry still needed time and that he intended to help him shoulder his burdens.
• Nicholas and Perenal decided to store some Elixir of Life before slowly welcoming their final death.

Hermione reflected on her friends, her search for Nicolas Flamel, and her admiration for Albert after receiving a letter from Harry about Snape’s Christmas gift to him. She ended by hoping to become friends with Albert and wondering whether he had translated the parchment she gave him.

• Hermione finished her holiday homework and thought about her first months at Hogwarts and the friends she had made.
• Hermione received a letter from Harry explaining that Snape had given Albert a Christmas gift, which Harry had passed on to Malfoy.
• Hermione felt hurt that Harry and Ron had not sent her Christmas greetings and saw no news about Nicolas Flamel in Harry’s letter.
• Hermione placed Albert’s Wizard Card at the top of her deck and considered his achievements and his prediction that she would find friends.
• Hermione recalled thanking Albert for his help and asking him to translate a parchment, then began writing in her diary.

After returning to Hogwarts, Albert and his friends discussed Snape’s unusual Christmas gift and the twins’ experimental sweets. They opened an anonymous package meant for Albert, only for it to spray a foul-smelling liquid across the Common Room.

• Albert explained that Snape had given him a potion recipe for Babbling Brew along with its ingredients, and Lee Jordan complained about the gift before asking to use Albert’s Shrinking Solution essay for reference.
• Fred and George welcomed Albert and Lee with Sorrow Candy, demonstrating how it made George cry and then left him grinning after eating an antidote sweet.
• Albert asked whether the twins had opened the anonymous package, and Fred and George said they had saved it to open together.
• After the package showed no reaction to a Probity Probe, Albert opened it from a distance with a spell, and yellow-green liquid burst out and filled the Common Room with a petrol-like smell.

After receiving a package of undiluted Bubotuber pus, Albert used Divination to identify Professor Quirrell as the suspect and turned the ingredient into an opportunity. With Isabelle’s help, he developed a potion that cleared pimples within hours, leaving the girls eager to try it.

• Albert discovered undiluted Bubotuber pus in a package and suspected a Slytherin student or Professor Quirrell had sent it to him.
• Albert told his friends he would use the pus to make a pimple-removing ointment rather than let the sender upset him.
• Albert used a Divination Crystal Ball and identified Professor Quirrell as the suspect.
• Albert asked Isabelle for advice, and she shared a formula for a treatment that removed blackheads.
• Albert and Isabelle developed a Pimple-Removing Potion in three days, and the girls were delighted to hear about it.

Albert declined to make more Pimple-Removing Potion while Fred, George, and Lee Jordan worried that Kenneth Troller would profit by selling it. After the twins secretly tried to get more Bubotuber pus, Albert hinted that the potion could be improved, leaving George convinced that Kenneth had fallen into another trap.

• News spread through the castle that someone had sent Albert undiluted Bubotuber pus, and students joked about the anonymous gift while girls praised Albert's Pimple-Removing Potion.
• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan tried to persuade Albert to brew more potion, but he said he was busy and had no ingredients left.
• Lee Jordan reported that Kenneth Troller planned to sell a large batch for five Sickles a bottle, and Albert told the girls nearby that brewing the potion required skill.
• Fred and George planned to put Bulbadox Powder in Kenneth Troller's pajamas, but Albert stopped them, and they secretly contacted Mundungus Fletcher for Bubotuber pus.
• Albert guessed that Fred and George had failed to obtain ingredients and said an improved potion could make Kenneth Troller lose money, leading George to say Albert had trapped him again.

Albert improved the Pimple-Removing Potion into a more effective ointment-like version and helped the Weasley twins sell preorders at school. He set a five-hundred-Galleon price for the formula, expecting Madam Primpernelle’s beauty shop to buy it, while Kenneth Troller left without accepting the offer.

• Fred and George regretted wasting five Galleons on their failed attempt to brew the original Pimple-Removing Potion.
• Albert took the twins’ Bubotuber pus and developed Pimple-Removing Potion 2.0, which Isabelle helped promote among girls at school.
• The Weasley twins collected three-Sickle preorders for the improved potion, drawing Ron’s envy and Hermione’s curiosity.
• Kenneth Troller offered one hundred Galleons for the formula, but Albert demanded five hundred and advised him to consider the deal.
• Albert told the others he expected a beauty potion shop, likely Madam Primpernelle’s, to buy the formula, and Kenneth left without agreeing.

Albert revealed to Hermione that the translated parchment contained instructions for making the Philosopher's Stone, drawing Professor Quirrell's attention. Quirrell stole the parchment from Hermione and erased her memory of it.

• Albert turned back time with his Time-Turner and went to the Great Hall, where he ate with Lee Jordan.
• Albert met the muddy Gryffindor Quidditch team after practice and advised Harry to catch the Golden Snitch quickly against Hufflepuff.
• Hermione waited for Albert, and he told her that the translated parchment described how to make the Philosopher's Stone.
• Hermione took the parchment to the library while Professor Quirrell hurried away, tempted by the possibility of making a Philosopher's Stone.
• Quirrell secretly took the parchment from Hermione and cast Obliviate on her, making her forget about the formula.

Albert gave Hermione a translated Philosopher's Stone recipe and told her it was fake, while considering whether Quirrell would waste time trying to make one. In the Gryffindor common room, Harry learned Snape would referee the Hufflepuff match, and Neville came in after Malfoy cursed him, leaving Hermione to investigate the recipe.

• Albert gave Hermione a translated recipe for the Philosopher's Stone and told her to look up what the Stone was to understand why it was fake.
• Ron invited Albert to play Wizard's Chess, and Harry returned to tell them Snape would referee Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff.
• Neville stumbled into the common room after Malfoy hit him with the Leg-Locker Curse, and Hermione lifted the curse.
• Albert urged Neville to find courage and stand up to bullies, then gave him a sweet before Neville went to the dormitory.
• Hermione told Ron and Harry that Albert's parchment contained a Philosopher's Stone recipe, and that he had called it fake.

Hermione discovered that Nicolas Flamel was the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, which could turn metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life. She and Harry and Ron concluded that Dumbledore was guarding Flamel's Stone, while disagreeing about whether Albert intended to obtain it.

• Hermione failed to find information about the Philosopher's Stone and asked Professor Flitwick, who linked it to ancient alchemy and gave her little else.
• Hermione recalled a library book, found Nicolas Flamel's entry, and learned that he alone had made the Philosopher's Stone.
• Hermione read that the Stone could turn metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life, and she and Harry and Ron realized Flamel had lived for centuries.
• Harry found a Chocolate Frog card showing that Dumbledore had worked in alchemy with Flamel, and Hermione guessed Dumbledore was keeping the Stone safe.
• Harry suspected Albert wanted the Stone, while Hermione argued that Albert had revealed its formula and would not steal from Dumbledore.

Albert prepared to meet Madam Primpernelle in Hogsmeade to discuss a transaction, while Lee Jordan spread a rumor that Wood had been dumped and paid for it with a black eye. The chapter ended with Albert giving Lee ointment after Wood punched him.

• George and Fred complained about Wood scheduling Quidditch practice, and Lee Jordan claimed Wood had been dumped by his girlfriend.
• Kenneth Troller told Albert that Madam Primpernelle had agreed to meet him in Hogsmeade, and Albert said he would trade only if she acted in good faith.
• Albert declined Shanna's invitation to Hogsmeade because he had a meeting planned.
• Lee Jordan joked that Albert was abandoning his friends to go with his girlfriend, and Albert warned him that Wood was looking for him.
• Wood led Lee Jordan away, and Lee returned with a black eye after Wood punched him.
• Albert gave Lee Jordan swelling ointment while Fred and George laughed at him.

Albert and Isabelle met at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, where Isabelle brought in her exhausted younger sister Katrina to encourage her to rest and reconsider taking twelve courses. As they talked, Albert noted that the time was right, and an unfamiliar woman and boy entered the shop.

• Albert and Isabelle discussed selling a formula while Kenneth Troller arrived early and tactfully left them to their date.
• Isabelle called Katrina over, and Albert advised her to use her Time-Turner wisely and drop courses that were overwhelming her.
• Katrina mistakenly thought she had interrupted Albert and Isabelle's date, but Isabelle kept her at the table and ordered her cake.
• Isabelle and Albert urged Katrina to rest more, and Katrina protested their advice and Isabelle's fussing.
• Albert said the time was about right just as an unfamiliar woman in her thirties entered with an unfamiliar boy.

Albert sold the Pimple-Removing Potion 2.0 formula to Madam Primpernelle for five hundred Galleons, persuading her that the deal would be profitable even if he later improved it. Afterward, Isabelle asked him to help Katrina reconnect with their circle, and Albert agreed as he looked ahead to creating a third version as an ointment.

• Kenneth Troller watched as Mrs. Patil added a chair for him, and Madam Primpernelle greeted Albert and criticized his potion's name.
• Madam Primpernelle questioned whether Albert might improve the potion again after she bought its formula, and Albert argued that five hundred Galleons would still be a profitable deal.
• Madam Primpernelle agreed to buy the formula and had Albert sign a Ministry of Magic contract that required any improved version to differ from the current potion.
• Katrina left the tea shop in a daze after watching Albert receive five hundred Galleons and give Isabelle fifty.
• Isabelle asked Albert to help Katrina rejoin their circle, and Albert agreed while saying he planned to make Pimple-Removing Potion 3.0 as an ointment.

Albert sold his Pimple-Removing Potion formula for five hundred Galleons and began preparing his friends to manage their future joke shop. Meanwhile, Hermione’s account of meeting Albert in the library contradicted Ron’s memory of him being in the common room, leaving her wondering whether there could be two Alberts.

• Albert told Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that he had sold his potion formula for five hundred Galleons.
• Albert gave each roommate fifty Galleons to manage as future shop funds and taught them to keep accounts.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed Albert’s sale, and Hermione shared sweets he had given her as a Christmas return gift.
• Ron said Albert had spent the afternoon in the common room, while Hermione remembered meeting him in the library, leaving her puzzled by the conflicting accounts.

Albert told Hermione that his ability to appear in two places was connected to taking all twelve third-year courses, and urged her to reconsider her assumptions about Snape and the Philosopher’s Stone. After Hermione relayed his reasoning, Harry concluded Snape may have jinxed his broom to help Slytherin win, but doubted he could convince Dumbledore to investigate.

• Albert told Hermione that taking all twelve third-year courses would qualify her to learn how he appeared in two places, and asked her to keep the secret.
• Hermione questioned Albert about the Philosopher’s Stone and Snape; Albert suggested the professors could have saved Harry if he fell and urged Hermione to think through Snape’s motives.
• Albert advised Harry to tell Dumbledore about the suspected threat, saying the Headmaster could judge whether someone was lying.
• Hermione told Harry and Ron what Albert had said, and Harry guessed Snape jinxed his broom to help Slytherin win the Quidditch match.
• Harry told Hermione he did not think he could persuade Dumbledore to suspect Snape without evidence.

Albert and Katrina used a Time-Turner to return to the start of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, where Snape refereed and repeatedly awarded Hufflepuff penalty shots. Harry Potter caught the Golden Snitch in under five minutes, giving Gryffindor the win and setting a record.

• Katrina left Albert in the Room of Requirement, where he worked on a prototype automatic quill with Isabelle.
• Albert and Katrina used the Time-Turner to return to an hour before the match began.
• Snape replaced Madam Hooch as referee, and George sent a Bludger toward him, earning Hufflepuff a penalty shot.
• Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty shot, while Albert, Katrina, and Isabelle watched Harry search for the Snitch.
• Harry dived toward Snape, caught the Snitch beside him, and won the match for Gryffindor in less than five minutes.

Gryffindor celebrated its Quidditch victory while Harry was conspicuously absent. He returned to the Common Room out of breath and asked Hermione and Ron to find somewhere private so he could tell them what he had seen.

• Gryffindor celebrated its win over Hufflepuff with food and Butterbeer, while Diggory and his team left dejectedly.
• Wood asked where Harry had gone, but Fred said he had not seen him, and Albert declined Kenneth Troller's offer to run a betting pool.
• Albert warned George not to get overconfident before Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, prompting Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to consider Harry's safety and Albert as a reserve Seeker.
• Hermione and Ron told Albert that Harry was missing and worried Slytherin students might trouble him; Albert reassured them and asked Hermione about the Butterbeer.
• Harry arrived at the Common Room panting and told Hermione and Ron to find a private place so he could explain what he had seen.

Malfoy tried to have Goyle and Crabbe capture Albert's cat, Tom, but Albert intervened and delivered ominous prophecies to Malfoy and Snape. After Albert left, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed whether his predictions would come true, while Malfoy departed shaken.

• Malfoy told Goyle and Crabbe to catch Tom so he could upset Albert, but the cat fled from them.
• Albert confronted Malfoy, rescued Tom, and warned Malfoy that a conspiracy would bring death if he stayed near a certain shadow.
• Snape intervened and threatened to punish Albert, who gave Snape a prophecy warning him to avoid the cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts post.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione debated Albert's predictions, and Ron said Snape's wish to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts could put him in danger.

After Albert's prophecy frightened Draco Malfoy, Lucius erased the memory and Snape warned him to keep Draco away from Albert. The incident faded as Slytherin beat Ravenclaw, and Albert discussed the Wizard Cards tournament and prophecies with Isabelle and Katrina.

• Rumors spread about Albert's prophecies, while Dumbledore and Snape considered whether Albert could truly see the future.
• Draco became so distressed by Albert's prophecy that Lucius visited and used Obliviate to erase his memory of it.
• Lucius asked Snape about Albert's prophecy, and Snape warned him that Albert held grudges and advised him to keep Draco away.
• The Slytherin team defeated Ravenclaw in their Quidditch match.
• Isabelle told Albert she would enter the second Wizard Cards tournament, while Katrina declined because of her workload.
• Katrina asked Albert for a prophecy, and he offered to give her a discounted reading for ten Galleons.

Albert focused on completing his task by questioning the increasingly unwell Quirrell, then stopped Harry, Ron, and Hermione near the Fourth-Floor Restricted Corridor. Ron became interested in entering the Wizard Cards tournament for its prize, while Harry questioned whether he and Ron had even joined the club.

• Kenneth Troller was found unconscious in the boys' bathroom with his trousers removed, and he sought Albert's help getting revenge on Flint and his friends.
• Albert realized Quirrell's condition was worsening and hurried to finish the Good Student task, which had reached 89/100.
• Albert stopped Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they approached the Fourth-Floor Restricted Corridor, and Percy warned Ron not to try entering it.
• Albert encouraged Ron to enter the Wizard Cards tournament, and Hermione explained the entry fee and selection process.
• Harry asked Ron when he had joined the Wizard Cards Club, reminding him that neither of them had attended its gatherings or obtained cards.