Chapter Summaries

Albert met with Dumbledore, who explained his plan to fake his death, protect Draco Malfoy, and let Voldemort claim the Elder Wand without gaining its allegiance. The chapter ended with Albert listing ways Death Eaters could enter Hogwarts, including repairing the Vanishing Cabinet.

• Albert told Dumbledore that Voldemort had captured Cassandra Vablatsky to divine Albert’s location.
• Dumbledore revealed that Snape was on his side and would kill him as part of a plan involving Draco Malfoy’s assassination attempt.
• Albert warned that Draco might act recklessly and endanger Hogwarts students, and Dumbledore agreed to alert Snape.
• Dumbledore explained that he would take Harry to a cave containing a possible Horcrux, weaken himself, and let Snape kill him so Voldemort would trust Snape.
• Dumbledore planned for Draco to disarm him so Voldemort could take the Elder Wand without becoming its master, and asked Albert to kill Voldemort if Harry failed.
• When Dumbledore asked how Death Eaters could enter Hogwarts, Albert listed secret passages, Snape’s fireplace, house-elves, Portkeys, and the Vanishing Cabinet.

Voldemort forced Cassandra Vablatsky to divine Albert Anderson’s location, killing members of her family when she refused, while Harry experienced the murder through a dream. At Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione, and Ron learned Cedric had been at the school’s Hospital Wing but had slipped away, leaving them unsure why he was there.

• Yaxley brought Cassandra Vablatsky to Voldemort, who demanded she locate Albert Anderson and threatened her family when her Divination failed.
• Cassandra’s family was brought before her, and Voldemort killed her granddaughter and tortured another relative to force her to cooperate.
• Cassandra refused to make a prophecy for Voldemort, and Harry woke at Hogwarts sensing through his dream that Voldemort had killed someone.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron identified Cassandra as the likely person Voldemort had threatened and discussed a letter from George proposing Cedric help with the Defense Association gatherings.
• Harry and his friends went to the Hospital Wing to find Cedric, but Madam Pomfrey told them he had slipped away the previous day and chased them out.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron suspected Diggory’s injuries were connected to The Dark Lord and arranged to meet Fred and George in Hogsmeade. Meanwhile, the Defense Association planned its next meeting and discussed Albert’s training materials, leaving Cedric eager to learn from him and uncertain about his future with Cho Chang.

• Harry, Hermione, and Ron concluded that Diggory had come to Hogwarts for safety and suspected his injuries were connected to The Dark Lord.
• Hermione told Harry that Professor Slughorn had invited him to a Wednesday gathering, but Harry said Quidditch practice and Ron’s confidence might keep him away.
• Fred and George arranged to meet Harry in The Three Broomsticks that weekend to discuss the Defense Association.
• George showed Diggory Albert’s training materials, and Diggory recognized how much more practical they were than Hogwarts’ Defence Against the Dark Arts classes.
• Fred and George discussed Harry’s limited interest in the Defense Association, while George and Lee Jordan joked about competing to be Albert’s child’s godfather.
• Shanna asked Cedric when he would marry Cho Chang, and Fred urged him not to let happiness slip away.

Albert remained at home because the Dark Lord was trying to locate him, while Katrina wanted to travel to the United States to learn about running a beauty salon. He advised her to stay safe and prepare for her own business, and Katrina agreed to hear his plan.

• Isabelle asked Albert why he had stayed home, and he admitted the Dark Lord was trying to pinpoint his location.
• Katrina told Albert she wanted to go to the United States to gain experience for opening a beauty salon, but her mother had refused.
• Albert warned Katrina that the United States was dangerous and suggested she write a Beauty Guide to build wealth and prepare for her business.
• Mrs. McDougal thanked Albert for helping keep Katrina safe, and he advised her to help Katrina train for a future beauty salon.
• Isabelle invited Katrina to join their discussion, and Albert offered to analyze the business prospects as he had for Fred and George's shop.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione traveled to Hogsmeade, where Cedric told them Albert had revived the Defense Association to prepare people for the coming conflict with the Dark Lord. The chapter ended when a scream outside The Three Broomsticks interrupted their conversation about the danger facing Scrimgeour and the wizarding world.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed Albert’s prediction of turbulent times and worried that Dumbledore might no longer be able to restrain Voldemort.
• The trio saw Fred and George’s remodeled Zoko's Joke Shop, where Lee Jordan charged students for photos beside a grotesque Umbridge statue.
• At The Three Broomsticks, Harry, Ron, and Hermione met Cedric and learned that Death Eaters had captured him while he recruited members for the revived Defense Association.
• Cedric explained that the Defense Association would teach advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts and help members protect and hide one another from the Dark Lord’s followers.
• Cedric warned that Albert believed Scrimgeour might be killed, and a scream outside suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Katie was badly injured after touching a cursed Opal Necklace in Hogsmeade, and Harry and his friends suspected someone had used the Imperius Curse to deliver it. They suspected Madam Rosmerta might be controlled and Draco Malfoy might be involved, and planned to tell Dumbledore while Harry returned to Hogwarts.

• George used Curse-Breaking Potion to ease Katie's pain, and Fred and George helped the Aurors take her to Hogwarts.
• Harry stopped a student from touching the package, and Fred confirmed with a Secrecy Sensor that it contained a Dark Magic Opal Necklace.
• George learned from Leanne that Katie had returned from the restroom acting strangely and carrying the package, then suspected Madam Rosmerta had been placed under the Imperius Curse.
• Harry suspected Draco Malfoy was involved in an attempt to kill Dumbledore, while George advised keeping their suspicion about Madam Rosmerta quiet until they could tell Dumbledore.
• Harry told Hermione and Ron that Voldemort might have ordered Draco to kill Dumbledore as revenge for Lucius Malfoy's failures.

George, Fred, Lee Jordan, Cedric, and Shanna discussed the cursed opal necklace and concluded that Draco Malfoy might be carrying out a plot against Dumbledore, possibly under Voldemort’s orders. They suspected Snape would ultimately kill Dumbledore, and considered whether Zoko might be targeted next.

• George, Fred, and Lee Jordan reasoned that a wealthy Death Eater likely sent the opal necklace to target Dumbledore, since Harry had not been its intended recipient.
• George suggested Voldemort might have assigned Draco Malfoy to assassinate Dumbledore as revenge against the Malfoy family, though the others called the plan reckless and unlikely to succeed.
• George and Fred connected Albert’s prophecies and his caution about Snape to their suspicion that Snape would kill Dumbledore, while Cedric insisted they had no proof.
• Shanna offered to help prepare Hogwarts materials or join the DA gathering, but the others fell silent and Fred changed the subject to contacting Sirius Black.
• Lee Jordan asked whether Death Eaters might target Zoko, and Cedric realized the group might be considering using him as bait under the protection of the Ministry and the Aurors.

Albert trained Katrina in dueling fundamentals and silent spells, explaining that systematic practice could bring her close to Auror level. After sparring with her, he dismissed her as an elite rather than a genius and resumed the lesson.

• Albert corrected Katrina’s dueling and taught her to practice silent Stunning Spells, Disarming Charms, and Shield Charms.
• Albert explained to Isabelle that Katrina was building a foundation and could approach Auror level, while silent casting could make her a stronger duelist.
• Isabelle realized Albert’s systematic training could produce capable wizards, as it had with Fred, George, and Jordan.
• Albert reassured Isabelle that he supported her choices, then returned to sparring with Katrina.
• Katrina asked Albert whether he was creating a Defense Association and whether he considered her a genius; he called her an elite and told her to continue practicing.

Harry discussed Katie’s cursed necklace and suspected Draco Malfoy was behind the attack, but Dumbledore insisted on investigating before accusing anyone. During their lesson, Harry examined a memory of young Tom Riddle and recognized his habit of collecting trophies, prompting him to ask about Voldemort’s Horcruxes.

• Harry told Dumbledore that he suspected Draco Malfoy had arranged the attack on Katie and argued that another attack was likely.
• Dumbledore said he would investigate those connected to Katie’s accident and personally check whether Madam Rosmerta had been placed under the Imperius Curse.
• Dumbledore showed Harry his memory of meeting the eleven-year-old Tom Riddle at an orphanage.
• Harry noted that Tom could control his magic, stole from children he bullied, collected trophies, and was a Parselmouth.
• Harry asked whether Horcruxes were valuable objects or souvenirs, and Dumbledore said he would share what he knew later.

Dumbledore warned Snape that Draco’s failed attempt on Katie Bell could expose him to the Ministry and put the Malfoy family at risk. Snape frightened Draco into abandoning his reckless plans and gave him a new task: repair Hogwarts’ Vanishing Cabinet so the Dark Lord’s people could enter the school.

• Dumbledore summoned Snape, praised how he handled Katie Bell’s case, and ordered him to keep Draco under control.
• Dumbledore cautioned Snape that another incident could bring Ministry scrutiny and Veritaserum investigations, while Snape recognized Albert Anderson as a grave threat to the Malfoys.
• Snape summoned Draco and confronted him about the cursed opal necklace, explaining that Dumbledore suspected him and that both the Dark Lord and Albert could endanger his family.
• Draco agreed to hear Snape’s plan after Snape warned that the Dark Lord would punish the Malfoys if Draco’s actions ruined the attempt to kill Dumbledore.
• Snape told Draco to repair Hogwarts’ Vanishing Cabinet so the Dark Lord’s followers could infiltrate the school, and said Draco needed to earn credit for the mission.

Bellatrix led a group of Death Eaters to Borgin and Burkes to learn how to repair the Vanishing Cabinet for Snape’s plan to kill Dumbledore. The group remained uncertain about attacking Dumbledore at Hogwarts, while Snape insisted that Dumbledore was gravely weakened.

• Bellatrix and Narcissa argued over whether Snape was protecting Draco or exploiting him, and Narcissa persuaded Bellatrix to support the plan.
• Bellatrix gathered Death Eaters and took them to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley to find a way to repair the Vanishing Cabinet.
• Borgin and Burkes explained how the cabinet worked and agreed to help repair it, while Fenrir Greyback threatened him if he failed.
• Bellatrix relayed the repair method to Snape through the Two-way Mirror.
• Alecto Carrow and Avery questioned whether the Death Eaters could kill Dumbledore, and Snape claimed Dumbledore was badly injured and growing weaker.

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Cedric discussed the worsening Second Wizarding War as Cedric helped Harry teach students how to survive and evade pursuit. Cedric revealed that Albert expected the Ministry to fall and Dumbledore to lose his power to deter Voldemort, leaving Harry troubled about Dumbledore’s injury.

• Hermione worried that Death Eaters would target her Muggle family and considered sending them to Australia after making them forget her.
• Cedric joined Harry’s Defense Against the Dark Arts meeting with Dumbledore’s permission and introduced the students to the Defense Association.
• Harry taught the students how to establish hidden temporary camps, use protective and concealment spells, and escape rather than fight when discovered.
• Cedric warned the students that saying Voldemort’s name could expose them to Death Eaters once the Ministry fell, and urged them to keep the Defense Association secret.
• Harry asked Cedric whether the Ministry would collapse, and Cedric said Albert expected Voldemort to kill Scrimgeour and Dumbledore to soon lose his power to deter Voldemort.

Cedric and Albert discussed the Defense Association’s growing membership, its security measures, and plans to build a safe community for its supporters. Meanwhile, Cassandra Vablatsky agreed to make a final prophecy for Voldemort in exchange for her family’s survival, and he demanded to know when Dumbledore would die and where a Muggle-born witch would appear next.

• Cedric told Albert that Hogwarts students and graduates wanted to join the Defense Association, but worried that students might expose its secrets; Albert explained that members would be divided into fighters and outside supporters.
• Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Truman, and Cedric discussed building homes, businesses, and a future wizarding village on land Albert had acquired as a Defense Association stronghold.
• Cedric said Albert was delaying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons because Cassandra Vablatsky, captured by Voldemort, was nearing death and might reveal his location through Divination.
• Cassandra agreed to make a final prophecy after Voldemort captured her family, telling him that Scrimgeour would die by his hand.
• Voldemort demanded a prophecy about Dumbledore’s death and the next appearance of a Muggle-born witch, while Cassandra asked him to honor his promise to spare her family.

Albert learned that Cassandra Vablatsky and her family had been killed after she gambled on Voldemort honoring his promise, and he worked with Dumbledore to locate their bodies and warn others. At Hogwarts, he reassured Hermione about her suspicions over Harry and Ron’s Quidditch match and agreed that her family should leave England, while warning that the coming year would be dangerous.

• Albert told Katrina and Isabelle that Voldemort had killed Cassandra Vablatsky and her family, explaining that Cassandra had gambled on his promise to spare them.
• Albert met Dumbledore, gave him a Prophecy Orb, and discussed locating Cassandra’s body and warning others that Voldemort was targeting Dumbledore and Scrimgeour.
• Albert watched Gryffindor defeat Slytherin and advised Hermione to ask Harry about her suspicion that he had given Ron Liquid Luck.
• Albert told Hermione that the situation could spiral out of control next year and invited her to consider joining the Defense Association.
• Hermione asked Albert to help her family leave England, and he approved of the plan and advised her to spend one last Christmas with them.

Albert and Dumbledore found Cassandra Vablatsky and her family’s bodies, then discovered a coded message suggesting three dates tied to possible deaths. They suspected Cassandra had told Voldemort about Hermione’s plans, and Dumbledore offered to help Hermione leave early to protect her family.

• Albert divined that Cassandra’s family’s bodies were near a Muggle village, and Dumbledore Apparated with him to join Kingsley and the others.
• Albert revealed the bodies hidden as stones in an abandoned village and confirmed Cassandra was dead, while suspecting she might have been a Polyjuice double.
• Dumbledore found coded hairs on Cassandra that Albert interpreted as the dates December 27, June 24, and August 15.
• Albert connected June 24 to Dumbledore, August 15 to Scrimgeour, and December 27 to Hermione’s plan to send her family away.
• Dumbledore offered Hermione a few days of leave so she could deal with her family matters early and avoid danger.

After Gryffindor’s Quidditch victory, Harry explained that Ron had used a calming potion rather than Liquid Luck, while Hermione warned Harry about Albert’s concerns over the coming war. The next day, Albert’s letter urged Hermione to send her family away immediately, leaving her preparing to seek his help and telling Harry to stay at school.

• Harry told Hermione that the bottle he had given Ron was a calming product from Fred and George, and Ron left believing his Quidditch success came from his own ability.
• Hermione told Harry that Albert expected the situation to worsen next year and that she planned to send her family away after Christmas.
• Harry explained that Ron was jealous because Hermione had kissed Viktor Krum, and Hermione clarified that she had no plans to pursue a romance with either Ron or Harry.
• Back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry saw Ron kissing Lavender Brown, while Hermione advised Harry to find a dance partner for Slughorn’s Christmas party.
• The next day, Hermione apologized to Ron and received funding and a letter from Albert, who urged her to send her family away as soon as possible.
• Hermione said she would ask Albert for help and warned Harry not to leave Hogwarts because it was unsafe outside.

Albert took Hermione to her home to move her family out of danger after Cassandra’s prophecy implicated them, but found the house empty and discovered that a dark wizard had been watching it. After learning Hermione’s family was safe and finding their location, Albert prepared to take her to them.

• Hermione agreed to leave Hogwarts early, and Albert explained that Cassandra’s prophecy had linked her family to a possible danger on December 27.
• Albert and Dobby Apparated with Hermione to a park near her home, where Albert erased the memories of nearby children who heard them arrive.
• Albert explained to Hermione that the wizarding war also involved conflict between Pure-bloods and Muggle Wizards as they walked toward her house.
• Albert detected a dark wizard monitoring Hermione’s neighborhood, approached alone, and knocked him unconscious.
• Hermione found her house empty and feared her family had been captured, but Albert used Legilimency on the guard and confirmed that the wizard had only been surveilling the area.
• Albert told Hermione that he knew where her family was, and they prepared to leave to find them.

Albert took Hermione to rescue her parents, but discovered Voldemort had used them as bait to lure him into a trap. He escaped with the Grangers and arranged for Kingsley to help them move to Australia, leaving Voldemort furious and still unable to find him.

• Hermione asked Albert to teach her Occlumency, and he took her by flying bicycle toward her family's dental clinic.
• Albert detected Dark Wizards watching the Grangers, knocked one out, and realized they might be under the Imperius Curse; he and Hermione found her parents unconscious and discovered they carried a Tracking Charm.
• When Voldemort and Death Eaters arrived at Albert's safe house, Albert removed the charm, erased their traces, and had Dobby Apparate them to another safe house.
• Voldemort found the empty safe house and heard Albert mock him through radios before destroying them in a rage.
• Albert explained that Voldemort had used the watchers and the Grangers as bait, then contacted Kingsley, who agreed to help Hermione's family settle in Australia.

Albert helped Hermione’s family escape to Sydney and reassured her that Harry’s apparent weakness could help him find and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. After Kingsley reported that Death Eaters had burned Albert’s old home, Kingsley suspected the attack was connected to a prophecy.

• Albert and Hermione watched her family’s plane leave for Sydney, and he comforted her about the danger and their separation.
• Albert explained that Harry’s courage, motives, and low profile could help him act without drawing Voldemort’s attention while searching for Horcruxes.
• Kingsley, Sirius Black, and Lupin met Albert and Hermione, and Kingsley reported that a Death Eater had set fire to Albert’s old house.
• Albert took Hermione back to Hogwarts, and Kingsley told Sirius Black and Lupin that Dumbledore had found strands of hair in Cassandra’s hand as a prophetic message.

Hermione returned to Hogwarts after Albert and Kingsley helped rescue her family and send them out of England, then told Harry and Ron about the danger. The chapter left Harry confronting his limits while Hermione reminded him that Albert wanted the Defense Association to build a network of allies around him.

• Albert visited the Hogwarts kitchens with Hermione and Dobby, where the house-elves welcomed him and he advised Hermione to treat them with respect.
• Hermione reunited with Harry and Ron, then recounted how Albert rescued her family from Voldemort’s trap and helped them leave England with the Order of the Phoenix’s support.
• Hermione told Harry that Kingsley planned to protect the Dursleys and had arrangements for the Weasleys, while Harry wondered why Voldemort feared Albert and whether Albert would make a better Boy Who Lived.
• Ginny delivered Dumbledore’s message to Harry and asked about the next Defense Association meeting, which Harry postponed because of his other commitments.
• Hermione stopped Harry from handing the meetings to Cedric and explained that Albert wanted Harry to use them to gather supporters, though Harry was reluctant and still intended to help Luna run the Wizard Cards Club.