Chapter Summaries

Dumbledore and Snape discussed Hogwarts’s candidate for the Magical School Potion Championship and whether Lupin should teach at Hogwarts, while Dumbledore investigated the mystery of Black’s escape. The Ministry prepared to station Dementors around Hogwarts, but Dumbledore refused to let them enter the school grounds.

• Snape recommended Izabel Macdougal for the Potions Championship, and Dumbledore asked him to consider Anderson after Hertok Dagworth endorsed Anderson’s abilities.
• Snape agreed to teach the candidates ingredient-handling techniques and reluctantly agreed to brew Wolfsbane Potion for Professor Lupin, though he warned Dumbledore against trusting Lupin.
• Dumbledore reviewed memories of Black’s escape and questioned whether Black’s repeated words, “He’s at Hogwarts,” referred to Harry, while puzzling over the evidence surrounding Peter’s death.
• Delacour told Dumbledore that Dementors would be stationed around Hogwarts starting the next day, and Dumbledore refused to let them cross the school’s threshold.

Albert arrived late at King's Cross with his family after a traffic jam, then joined the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan aboard the Hogwarts Express. He discussed their plan to capture Black for the bounty and shared gifts and food, leaving the group ready to celebrate if they caught him.

• Herb drove Albert and Nia to King's Cross after a traffic jam, and Albert spotted two enchanted Ministry of Magic cars on the way.
• Albert crossed Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, met the Weasley Family, and boarded the Hogwarts Express with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
• Fred and George asked Albert about his plan to claim the bounty on Black, and Albert said they could catch him near Hogwarts when the timing was right.
• Lee Jordan gave Albert a supposed Dream Messenger token, but Albert suspected it was a tourist trinket and Lee admitted his uncle had called it a carved stone.
• Fred and George gave Albert an alchemy book and honey, while Albert shared freshly made macarons and said they would celebrate with champagne if they caught Black.

Albert warned his friends that Dementors would board the Hogwarts Express to search for Sirius Black, then spent the journey with the prefects and Isabelle. As the train slowed and the lights went out, a Dementor appeared outside the prefects’ compartment.

• Albert gave Fred a potion of Draught of Living Death and warned the twins and Lee Jordan that Dementors might inspect the train.
• Albert attended Percy Weasley’s prefect briefing, then stayed with Isabelle instead of joining the patrol.
• Albert and Isabelle shared lunch with the prefects and discussed their plans after Hogwarts, including Albert’s idea of opening a shop.
• The train slowed in the rain, frost spread across the windows, and the lights went out as Albert identified Dementors boarding to search for Black.
• Percy opened the compartment door and froze at the sight of a towering Dementor outside.

Albert drove a Dementor away from the prefects’ compartment with a corporeal Hippogriff Patronus and helped Isabelle and the other students recover. As the train neared Hogsmeade, he learned Ginny might also have been affected and urged Fred and George to help her.

• Albert summoned a Hippogriff Patronus, knocked the Dementor out of the prefects’ compartment, and drove it away.
• Albert comforted Isabelle with a drink and chocolate, helped Percy recover, and organized the prefects to calm and assist the students.
• Professor Lupin introduced himself as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and left with Percy to find the driver.
• After the train started moving again, Albert returned to his compartment and told Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that only corporeal Patronuses could repel Dementors.
• Albert warned Fred and George that Ginny might have been badly affected by the Dementors, so they left to check on her.

Albert arrived at Hogwarts in freezing rain, attended the Sorting Ceremony and heard Dumbledore warn that Dementors would remain at the school. After the feast, Albert guided the first-years to Gryffindor Tower and returned to find his hungry cat waiting for him.

• Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan reached Hogwarts in the rain while Dementors watched the students and guarded the gates.
• At the Great Hall, Albert noticed Snape glaring at the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Lupin, and saw Harry arrive after fainting near the Dementors.
• Dumbledore warned students not to leave Hogwarts without permission or provoke the Dementors, then announced Lupin and Hagrid as the new teachers.
• After the feast, Nick told Albert that Professor McGonagall had given him the Gryffindor password, Lucky Star.
• Albert and Shanna led the first-years to Gryffindor Tower, and Albert returned to his dormitory to find his hungry cat waiting on the table.

Albert was asked to represent Hogwarts in the Magical School Potion Championship and was assigned weekend tutoring with Snape. At breakfast, Harry asked about learning the Patronus Charm, while Hermione kept the secret behind her overloaded timetable.

• Albert prepared a large enchanted activity space for Tom and discussed using expanded spaces as workshops and growing areas with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
• Professor McGonagall told Albert that the Magical Gardens would hold the Magical School Potion Championship in early November and that Snape would tutor him on weekends.
• Albert told Fred, George, and Lee Jordan about the competition and Snape’s tutoring, which they joked would be detention.
• Harry asked Albert about the Patronus Charm, but Albert said he had no time and suggested Harry ask Professor Lupin instead.
• Ron questioned Hermione about taking classes scheduled at the same time, but Hermione said she and Professor McGonagall had arranged it.

Albert and his classmates attended Potions, where Snape warned them about the O.W.L.s and assigned a Soothing Draught, then met Professor Lupin in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Lupin assessed their past learning and focused the class on preparing for their O.W.L. exams.

• Snape warned the class that only the best students would be selected for N.E.W.T. Potions and assigned them to brew a Soothing Draught; Albert completed a successful sample.
• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan joked that few students would qualify for Snape’s advanced Potions class, while Albert reminded the twins that poor O.W.L. results could sour their summer holiday.
• In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Lupin reviewed the students’ previous instruction and explained that most O.W.L. material came from Dark Forces: A Defensive Guide.
• Albert demonstrated the Disarming Charm against Lupin, who blocked it with the Shield Charm and explained its defensive use.
• Lupin declined to teach the Shield Charm in the next lesson, saying he needed to cover the remaining O.W.L. material first.

Albert and his friends discussed Professor Lupin’s teaching, then learned that Draco Malfoy had been injured by a Hippogriff during Hagrid’s class. Albert explained why Hagrid would likely be protected from the Malfoys’ retaliation, and the friends discussed dropping subjects and the marks needed to continue studying them.

• Lee Jordan wondered whether Professor Lupin’s worn clothes reflected financial trouble, and Albert hinted that he knew the reason but kept his suspicion to himself.
• At dinner, Lee Jordan returned from the Slytherin table with news that a Hippogriff had scratched Draco Malfoy after Draco insulted it, while Harry had ridden the creature through the sky.
• Fred, George, and Lee speculated that Malfoy was faking his injury to cause trouble for Hagrid, and Albert said he had warned Hagrid last term about bringing dangerous creatures to class.
• Albert said Dumbledore could defend Hagrid and that the Malfoys no longer had a seat on the Board of Governors, while attention from the Daily Prophet could make the Ministry wary of targeting Hagrid again.
• Albert predicted Hagrid might teach them to raise harmless creatures such as Flobberworms and said he planned to drop several subjects; he told Fred that an Acceptable mark was enough to continue a subject in sixth year.

Albert explained Divination and Professor Trelawney’s real gift to Hermione, then warned Harry and his friends that Hagrid would be protected from expulsion but Buckbeak would likely be sentenced to execution. He promised to find a way to help Hagrid as Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to visit him.

• Albert and his friends worked on their Potions essays while Hermione approached him with Crookshanks.
• Albert told Hermione that Divination required rare talent, that Trelawney had a genuine gift she could not use, and that he sought recognition as a seer because it would give his words greater weight.
• Hermione asked Albert about Hagrid, and he said Dumbledore would prevent Hagrid from being expelled.
• Albert predicted that Lucius Malfoy would target the Hippogriff and warned that money and politics could lead to its execution.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to visit Hagrid, and Albert told them to pass on his regards and promised to find a way to help.

Albert reassured Hagrid after Malfoy’s injury and coached him to blame Malfoy’s rule-breaking if questioned, while saying Dumbledore would handle the Ministry. On the walk back to the castle, Albert urged his friends to practice the Patronus Charm, and the group discussed testing their prank candies on Malfoy.

• Lee Jordan, Fred, and George complained that Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures lessons had become dull after Malfoy’s accident.
• Albert gave Hagrid a Calming Draught and advised him to say Malfoy had ignored warnings and broken safety rules, while relying on Dumbledore to handle the investigation.
• Albert told Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that Hagrid’s case depended on Dumbledore’s influence and described the Patronus Charm’s value for O.W.L.s and Ministry careers.
• Fred and George described their thirteen experimental prank candies and discussed using one on Malfoy after the matter had blown over.
• Albert warned Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to keep any prank on Malfoy quick, discreet, and untraceable.

Albert and the others laughed over Neville’s memory of Snape dressed as his grandmother, while Wood discussed choosing a future Quidditch captain. As a storm fell and the Dementors’ supply crisis drove residents from Hogsmeade, Black slipped through their perimeter and reached the passage beneath the Whomping Willow.

• Albert showed Neville’s memory in the Crystal Ball, and the others laughed at Snape in his grandmother’s clothes.
• Albert warned his friends not to mock Snape because Snape could discover who had laughed, and said he still had tutoring with him that weekend.
• Wood told Fred and George that Quidditch training would start the next day and asked whom they thought should succeed him as captain.
• Albert predicted that Professor McGonagall would choose Angelina, and the others teased Lee Jordan about his interest in her.
• The Ministry of Magic struggled to feed the growing number of Dementors, whose patrols drove people from Hogsmeade and emptied the Hog’s Head Pub.
• Black crossed the Dementors’ perimeter disguised as a dog, ate a rat in the passage beneath the Whomping Willow, and returned to human form.

As O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. workloads overwhelmed Hogwarts students, Snape tutored Albert and Isabelle for the Potions Tournament, while Albert discussed Lupin’s lycanthropy and offered to teach Isabelle the Human Transformation Spell. The next morning, Albert’s friends complained about their homework, and he received photographs of a house listed for 2,000.

• Fred and George complained about the growing homework load as Albert and Isabelle learned the Potions Tournament’s ingredient-gathering and brewing requirements from Snape.
• Albert answered Snape’s challenge by saying he had memorized every recipe in Advanced Potion-Making, and he and Isabelle quickly mastered the lesson.
• Albert reassured Isabelle about Lupin and offered to teach her the Human Transformation Spell so she could defend herself against a Werewolf.
• Albert and Isabelle spent time together in the Room of Requirement, then Fred, George, and Lee Jordan confronted Albert the next morning for staying out late.
• Albert advised Hermione to learn from Percy or consider dropping some subjects, while Ron and Harry fell silent when Hermione objected to their comments about her temper.
• Albert opened an owl-delivered letter containing house photographs marked with the price 2000.

Albert prepared a secure safe house while discussing its protections with Fred and George, then received a large number of birthday presents from friends and family. Daisy's letter revealed that Herb planned to inspect investments in the colonies, and Albert hoped his family would soon be able to leave England temporarily.

• Albert explained to Fred and George that a safe house needed concealment, anti-tracking charms, and powerful protective enchantments.
• Lee Jordan told Albert, Fred, and George that his birthday presents had arrived, and they returned to the dormitory to inspect them with a Probity Probe.
• Albert opened gifts including books from George, Catherine, and Katrina, sweets from Fred, and presents from Lee Jordan, Hermione, and Isabelle.
• Albert read Daisy's letter saying Herb planned to inspect the colonies and that Uncle Charlie had invested Pound Sterling on the strength of Albert's advice.
• Albert concluded that his family's temporary move from England to the colonies should now be possible.

After finishing Snape’s tutoring, Albert told Isabelle his account of Snape’s history with Lily Evans and discussed buying a house in Hogsmeade. The chapter left Albert planning to renovate the house and use a Vanishing Cabinet to stay in contact with Isabelle after she graduated.

• Snape ended Albert and Isabelle’s tutoring after their nearly flawless potion assessment, and they celebrated with dinner in the Room of Requirement.
• Albert told Isabelle about the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow and Professor Lupin’s connection to the Shrieking Shack.
• Albert recounted how Snape had loved Lily Evans, told The Dark Lord about Trelawney’s prophecy, and later became Dumbledore’s spy after Lily was killed.
• Albert told Isabelle he had bought a cheap house in Hogsmeade for two thousand Galleons and planned to renovate it.
• Albert said he had arranged for the house-elves to find a Vanishing Cabinet so he and Isabelle could meet after her graduation.

Albert prepared to win the Magical School Potion Championship and used his Crystal Ball to learn that the first round required brewing the Draught of Living Death. Meanwhile, Malfoy suffered a Murtlap bite, and Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan turned their attention to Albert’s Patronus lessons.

• Albert focused on the upcoming championship, divined that its first-round potion was the Draught of Living Death, and prepared backup recipes for the competition.
• Albert returned from visiting Hagrid and found Fred, George, and Lee Jordan watching Malfoy, who was twitching and clutching his backside at the Slytherin table.
• Percy sent Goyle and Crabbe to take Malfoy to the Hospital Wing, while Lee Jordan spread a rumor that sparks were shooting from Malfoy’s anus.
• Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Malfoy’s symptoms as those of a Murtlap bite, and Snape searched the Great Hall for the student he suspected had caused the incident.
• Albert urged Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to keep practicing the Patronus Charm, warning them that the Dementors’ supplies were running low.
• Harry and Hermione asked to join the Patronus lessons, and Fred told them Albert likely would not mind teaching more students.

Albert taught Harry, Hermione, and Ron the basics of the Patronus Charm and warned Harry that learning to cast it would not necessarily prepare him to withstand Dementors. He advised Harry to seek help from Professor Lupin, who could guide him through facing a suitable substitute.

• Fred brought Harry, Hermione, and Ron to Albert's dormitory so they could learn the Patronus Charm.
• Albert explained the spell and its wand movement, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron each produced a non-corporeal Patronus after practicing.
• Albert described how difficult it was to summon a corporeal Patronus and demonstrated his silver Hippogriff Patronus.
• Fred and George revealed that their Patronuses were magpies and Lee Jordan's was a gorilla, while Albert explained how Patronus forms could relate to a person's inner self.
• Albert told Harry that he should ask Professor Lupin for help facing a substitute Dementor, since casting a Patronus in practice would not guarantee he could withstand real Dementors.

Harry asked Hagrid about Lupin’s friendship with James and learned that Lupin had faced difficult years, so he would need to ask Lupin directly. Hagrid also explained Albert’s research for the Magical School Potion Championship and warned Harry to stay alert because Albert believed Sirius Black might appear at Hogwarts.

• Harry asked Hagrid whether Lupin had been close friends with James, and Hagrid confirmed they had been inseparable but would not explain why Lupin had stayed away.
• Hagrid said Albert had asked about magical creatures because contestants in the Magical School Potion Championship would gather ingredients in the Magical Gardens.
• Ron told Harry and Hermione that Albert planned to capture Sirius Black for the reward, and Hermione warned that Albert expected Black to appear at Hogwarts.
• Hagrid said Albert thought the chance of catching Black was low for now and agreed that Dementors might not be reliable protection.
• Hagrid insisted on escorting Harry, Ron, and Hermione back to the castle and told Harry not to wander after dark.

Albert discussed Sirius Black’s reported sighting, a risky Venomous Tentacula purchase, and preparations for the Magical School Potion Championship. After Crookshanks chased Scabbers in the Gryffindor common room, Albert pointed out that Ron’s unusually old rat could be valuable to Muggle researchers, though selling it would be difficult.

• Albert told Lee Jordan and the twins that Sirius Black had appeared far away, likely to divert attention, and declined to join them in negotiating with Mundungus over Venomous Tentacula seeds.
• Professor McGonagall gave Albert the Hogsmeade notice and asked about his Potion Championship preparations; Albert warned her that cheating was customary in competitions.
• Albert said he had a date and would not go to Hogsmeade on Halloween Eve, then wrote to Mundungus to challenge his price and arrange a meeting.
• Crookshanks chased Scabbers around the common room, and Albert rescued Ron’s rat before Ron took it upstairs.
• Albert observed that Scabbers had lived far longer than ordinary rats and said Muggle researchers might pay a great deal for such an old rat, prompting the twins to consider selling it.

Fred and George told Ron that Scabbers might be valuable to Muggle researchers, then discussed helping Harry sneak into Hogsmeade and capturing Black. Hermione warned them against risking a confrontation with Black and the Dementors, while Ron and Harry still wanted to join the twins when the opportunity came.

• Fred and George told Ron that Albert thought Scabbers could be worth a fortune to Muggle biologists, and Lee Jordan confirmed Albert had said so.
• Hermione warned Ron that selling Scabbers for Galleons would be impractical, leaving Ron disappointed about the imagined money.
• Harry admitted his Hogsmeade permission form was unsigned, and Fred and George offered to show him secret passages.
• Hermione objected that Black was hunting Harry and threatened to tell Mrs. Weasley, prompting Fred and George to back down.
• Ron and Harry asked to join the attempt to catch Black, and George said they would first need to master a corporeal Patronus because they might face Dementors.
• Hermione warned Harry and Ron not to underestimate Black or the Dementors, and Fred replied that Albert had already blasted a Dementor with his Patronus on the train.

Albert and Isabelle visited the remote Hogsmeade house he had bought and planned to turn into a secret laboratory and refuge. They left after discussing renovations and how to conceal the house from others.

• Albert protected Isabelle from the Dementors with his Patronus, then used Apparition to travel with her to Hogsmeade.
• Albert and Isabelle visited the house, where Bit welcomed them and served refreshments.
• Albert revealed that he planned to use the house as a laboratory and showed Isabelle the Vanishing Cabinets hidden in his expanded suitcase.
• Isabelle worried the house would be unsafe if the magical world fell into chaos, and Albert promised to conceal it with the Fidelius Charm.
• Albert and Isabelle discussed renovating and magically expanding the house so they could use it as a private secret base.