Chapter Summaries

Snape warned Yaxley that Albert Anderson might be behind the growing conflict between Death Eaters and foreign Dark Wizards, but Yaxley continued his plan to defend Hogsmeade. As Death Eaters waited for an attack that never came, Rudolph staged a poisoning scare at the Three Broomsticks and signaled that the real operation was beginning.

• Snape cautioned Yaxley that the unusual fighting between foreign Dark Wizards and Death Eaters might be Albert Anderson's scheme, but Yaxley pressed on with his plan.
• Abforth received an Order of the Phoenix warning about an attack, gathered his valuables and food, and escaped through the secret passage to Hogwarts.
• Death Eaters kept watch in Hogsmeade through the night, but no foreign Dark Wizards appeared, and visitors continued trading at the black market.
• At the Three Broomsticks, Jugson's companions began collapsing after their final drinks, prompting him to order a warning sent to Yaxley and seek help from the Dementors.
• After the others left, Rudolph revealed he had pretended to pass out, went outside, and sent red sparks into the sky.

Albert led the Defense Association and Order of the Phoenix members through a storm to invade Azkaban, using Patronuses to repel the Dementors. After the group reached the fortress, Albert unleashed a powerful fire that engulfed the Inferi and set the island ablaze.

• Albert guided the broom-riding group to Azkaban and ordered them to summon Patronuses against the approaching Dementors.
• The intruders gathered their Patronuses and cleared a path through the Dementors to the island.
• The group descended to the fortress entrance, where Inferi pursued them but could not cross the flames.
• Kingsley opened the gates, and Sirius Black, Lupin, and a Defense Association squad entered the fortress to clear the way.
• As the Dementors attacked and the flames blocking the Inferi began to fade, Albert unleashed a blazing tide that spread across the island.

Albert led the Defense Association into Azkaban to rescue its prisoners while fighting off the Dementors. The Ministry’s Aurors arrived, were defeated and imprisoned, as the rescue continued toward its escape.

• Albert entered Azkaban with the others, sealed the entrance, and began transferring unconscious prisoners into the box while Dobby moved them to safety.
• Kingsley called for help against the Dementors, and Cedric led a team upstairs; Albert later drove the creatures back with his Patronus so the rescuers could work faster.
• The teams cleared the first three floors, rescuing prisoners and leaving behind three Albert judged dangerous.
• On the fifth floor, Ministry Aurors led by Gawain Robards confronted the rescuers, but the Defense Association ambushed and subdued them.
• Fred and the others locked the Aurors in cells, while the prisoners heard Apparition cracks and realized house-elves could bypass Azkaban’s restrictions.

Outsiders ambushed the Death Eaters, ransacked Hogsmeade, and then plundered the homes of wealthy Death Eaters while Yaxley and Snape struggled to stop them. The raiders escaped England, leaving Yaxley among the ruins of his burning manor.

• Jugson was ambushed and killed as masked outsiders attacked Hogsmeade, where they looted shops and killed residents, including Zoko.
• Yaxley led Death Eaters and Dementors toward Hogsmeade, but the outsiders ambushed them; Snape and Hogwarts Aurors arrived, while the Aurors largely stayed out of the fight.
• Snape and Yaxley tried to withdraw as the Death Eaters suffered heavy losses, and McNeil diverted his Aurors from the Azkaban invasion to reinforce Hogsmeade.
• McNeil arrived after Hogsmeade had fallen and told Yaxley that Azkaban had been attacked, while Death Eaters reported that the outsiders were targeting Yaxley’s manor.
• The outsiders used captured Death Eaters as guides to loot several wealthy homes, burned Yaxley’s manor, and escaped England before Yaxley could catch them.
• Yaxley saw his burning manor and spat out blood after his revenge failed.

Voldemort returned to England and punished Yaxley and Walton McNeil for their failures, then ordered Snape and Yaxley to target Albert Anderson through the Defense Association. Snape and Yaxley struggled to find an informant, while Yaxley wondered whether Anderson might be recruited instead.

• Voldemort punished Yaxley for losing control of Hogsmeade and allowing the Order of the Phoenix to free prisoners from Azkaban.
• Snape told Voldemort that Albert Anderson may have secretly united the outsider Dark Wizards and influenced the prison break.
• Voldemort cursed Walton McNeil, who explained that the Aurors had failed to stop the Order of the Phoenix at Azkaban.
• Voldemort ordered Snape to target the Defense Association and find a traitor who could provide information.
• Snape healed Yaxley and told him to help infiltrate the Defense Association, but Yaxley admitted they did not know its members.
• Yaxley wondered whether Anderson might be recruited into the Death Eaters, since he believed Anderson was at least half-blood.

After the Azkaban breakout rescued more than a hundred prisoners, Harry reluctantly went on the radio to encourage wizards to unite against The Dark Lord and share credit for the victory. The chapter ended with Harry and members of the resistance celebrating their success.

• The British wizarding world learned of the Azkaban breakout, which the Defense Association had arranged to inspire resistance to The Dark Lord.
• Harry learned that more than a hundred people had been rescued from Azkaban and that about a third were willing to join the cause.
• Hermione persuaded Harry to speak on the radio, where he credited everyone involved and urged wizards to stand together against The Dark Lord.
• Harry praised Scrimgeour and mocked the Death Eaters as weak, while reporting that Dark Wizards had robbed wealthy Death Eaters' homes.
• Harry and the Order of the Phoenix celebrated, while people at the Defense Association headquarters, the Room of Requirement, and the Safe Haven raised drinks to the victory.

Isabelle told Katrina that Albert expected the Wizarding War to end within a year, while Albert ordered the Defense Association to withdraw from a shelter after its residents ignored warnings. The departing wizards were ambushed and tortured to death by Death Eaters, and the Wizard Watchtower reported that twenty-eight people had died.

• Isabelle told Katrina that Albert expected the war to draw close to its end once the Horcrux problem was resolved.
• Shanna reported that wizards at another shelter were dissatisfied, and Albert ordered the Defense Association members stationed there to withdraw.
• Kenneth warned the sheltered wizards that they would have to face the consequences if they left, but some still went out.
• Death Eaters ambushed the departing wizards and tortured them to death in front of the shelter's survivors.
• Lee Jordan reported on the Wizard Watchtower that twenty-eight wizards had died and led three seconds of silence.

Kenneth and Cedric defended the Defense Association’s decision not to risk its members rescuing twenty-eight people who ignored warnings and died outside a shelter. Cedric confronted Cho Chang about the Association’s harsh rules and looming dangers, then he and Kenneth discussed the Death Eaters’ likely retaliation and the uncertain cost of the final battle.

• Kenneth told the Defense Association members that deaths in the war could awaken resistance and argued that the twenty-eight people had chosen to leave despite warnings.
• Cedric supported Kenneth’s decision, explained that the Association prioritized its members and limited resources, and told Cho Chang she should apologize to Kenneth.
• Cedric warned the gathered members that the Death Eaters might target their families and that anyone who betrayed the Association would be abandoned; no one said they wanted to leave.
• Kenneth suggested that Cedric alter Cho’s memories and send her out of England, but Cedric refused, saying Cho was smart.
• Kenneth and Cedric discussed the likelihood of a brutal Death Eater retaliation, the danger to their families, and how many students might die in the final battle.
• Kenneth asked whether Cedric planned to move to the Association’s location after the war, and Cedric said he was unsure.

Snape questioned Dumbledore’s portrait about Albert Anderson’s intentions as Voldemort’s Death Eaters escalated their attacks on people linked to the resistance. Dumbledore said Anderson wanted adults to take responsibility for the war and prevent students from dying at Hogwarts, while Snape warned that Death Eaters planned to target Dumbledore’s Army in two days.

• Snape described the Death Eaters’ losses, their search for Anderson, and their plans to threaten the resistance by arresting relatives and interrogating students.
• Dumbledore said Anderson might be using the Death Eaters’ brutality to rally Britain’s wizards and draw them into the war, rather than leaving children to fight.
• Snape and Dumbledore discussed a prophecy that the final battle would happen at Hogwarts and kill many students.
• Dumbledore said Anderson had warned the twenty-eight wizards who left the shelter of the risks, and they had chosen to leave anyway.
• Snape revealed that the Death Eaters planned to enter Hogwarts in two days to pursue Dumbledore’s Army, and Dumbledore urged him to protect the students.

Snape used students’ families to pressure Dumbledore’s Army into surrendering, while Neville and Hannah warned the members that the Death Eaters could not be trusted. They ultimately shared Albert’s plan to defeat the Death Eaters and help families leave England, but the choice to accept that help remained with each family.

• Snape ordered Alecto Carrow to use Aurors and students’ families to break up Dumbledore’s Army from within.
• The Death Eaters identified Neville Longbottom as the Army’s current leader and brought the families of missing students to Hogwarts to pressure the members.
• Neville and Hannah confronted the students considering surrender and reminded them that the Death Eaters might still torture them and that the Association would abandon traitors.
• Neville relayed Albert’s view that the Death Eaters were vulnerable and that families unwilling to resist should be sent abroad.
• Michael said he would persuade his parents to leave, using memory charms if necessary, and Neville stopped Hannah from further provoking the others.

Aurors debated their forced cooperation with the Death Eaters, and Gawain erased Prout’s memory after he announced he would quit. Snape suspected Prout was under the Imperius Curse and prepared for a trap aimed at Dumbledore’s Army, whose coming rescue attempt might draw in the Order of the Phoenix and the Defense Association.

• Prout condemned the Aurors for helping the Death Eaters and said he planned to resign and leave England.
• Gawain warned Prout that resigning would put him in danger, then cast Obliviate on him when Prout accused him of betrayal.
• Williamson revealed that the Death Eaters watching the Aurors had left, and Gawain said they would leave the war to Harry Potter and Albert Anderson.
• Snape reviewed the Aurors’ conversation in a Pensieve and concluded that Prout might be under the Imperius Curse as part of Albert Anderson’s plan to provoke a clash.
• Snape said Dumbledore’s Army would act despite the trap and questioned how many members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Defense Association would come to help.

The Defense Association and the Order of the Phoenix gathered to rescue the families held at Hogwarts, while Albert stayed behind to keep watch. Cedric briefed the assembled forces on the suspected Death Eater trap and assigned teams, leaving Dumbledore’s Army ready to support the operation.

• Lee Jordan explained to Abforth that Snape had captured the families of students who resisted him, and George led the group through the portrait passage to meet Neville.
• George told Neville that Albert was staying behind and assured the students that the Dark Lord was away from England.
• Fred opened his suitcase in the Room of Requirement, revealing that the Order of the Phoenix had sent reinforcements alongside the Defense Association.
• Cedric concluded that the Death Eaters had set a trap and divided the forces into teams to handle the Aurors, Snape, the Death Eaters, and the Special Action Team.
• Cedric assigned Dumbledore’s Army to serve as the reserve and help monitor the school, then told everyone to synchronize their watches and finish within half an hour.

Neville, Shanna, and their allies caught a Death Eater ambush near the Room of Requirement and subdued the attackers without killing them. After Nelson Tobin took revenge on one captive, Shanna led the group back to the Room of Requirement to support the ongoing operation.

• Goyle and Crabbe waited near the Room of Requirement as bait while hidden Death Eaters prepared to ambush Dumbledore's Army members.
• Neville and Michael knocked out Goyle and Crabbe, but a concealed Death Eater ambushed Michael and Neville before Shanna's group incapacitated him.
• Shanna checked the Marauder's Map, revived Michael, and had him give Goyle and Crabbe Draught of Living Death.
• Nelson Tobin kicked the unconscious Death Eater, explaining that Death Eaters had killed his family, and Shanna warned him not to endanger their mission.
• Shanna's group concealed the three captives and returned to the Room of Requirement after hearing that Hestia's operation had gone smoothly.

The Defense Association’s rescue operation began under the Death Eaters’ alert, and its members ambushed both Death Eaters and Aurors while moving through Hogwarts. Snape escaped Sirius Black and Lupin by fleeing through the Headmaster’s fireplace, leaving them to guard against reinforcements.

• Arthur noticed the alert on his watch, and Fred and George led the group into an ambush that took down three Death Eaters with a Flashbang.
• The group tied up the captured Death Eaters and decided not to wipe them all out, fearing retaliation against Hogwarts before they were ready for war.
• Kingsley and Cedric ambushed five Aurors, then split up so one group could reinforce Sirius Black and Lupin while the other met Arthur’s group.
• Sirius Black and Lupin attacked Snape, but Snape blocked their spells, retreated into the Headmaster’s office, and escaped through the Floo Network.
• Sirius Black and Lupin learned Snape had gone for reinforcements and concealed themselves near a fireplace to ambush any Death Eaters who arrived.

Fred and George led a successful rescue of five imprisoned family members from Hogwarts, but several refused to accept the danger of staying neutral. After Snape escaped and the group prepared to leave, Seamus stunned his mother when she refused to go.

• Lee Jordan's team captured the Investigation Action Group while Fred and George split up to defeat the Dark Wizards lying in wait around the castle.
• Fred and George found the five prisoners had not been tortured, then stunned them and moved them into a suitcase before the group returned to the Room of Requirement.
• Mrs. Figg and other rescued family members resisted joining the fight or leaving England, so Michael stunned his father and the group urged the adults to choose between resistance and going abroad.
• Sirius Black, Lupin, and Kingsley arrived, and Lupin reported that Snape had escaped through the fireplace.
• Shanna ordered everyone to leave within ten minutes, and Seamus stunned Mrs. Figg when she continued to refuse to leave.

Snape sought McNeil’s help after the Order of the Phoenix and the Defense Association rescued prisoners from Hogwarts and drove off the Death Eaters. After the Aurors found their unconscious comrades, Snape urged McNeil to avoid provoking Albert Anderson and prepare for a final showdown with Harry Potter.

• Snape told McNeil that the Order of the Phoenix had appeared at Hogwarts, forcing him to flee, and asked him to send Aurors to investigate.
• McNeil arranged for Aurors to travel to Hogwarts, where they found that the Order and the Defense Association had left after rescuing the five imprisoned family members.
• The Aurors found their missing comrades and other Dark Wizards unconscious, and Snape identified Inferno Potion as the reason the victims could not be awakened by spells.
• McNeil proposed threatening Hogwarts students or professors, but Snape warned that provoking Albert Anderson could trigger a deadly conflict.
• Snape told McNeil that the Order of the Phoenix expected a final showdown with Harry Potter and proposed convening a Death Eater meeting to prepare.

Albert and Shanna discussed the families rescued from the Death Eaters and the growing strength of the Defense Association. Albert explained that he planned to write a memoir documenting the Wizarding War and its victims, and they left to join the feast.

• Shanna told Albert that the families of the five Dumbledore's Army members had been memory-modified and sent out of England.
• Shanna said Albert should have let the families suffer as a warning, but Albert insisted they needed to unite the others.
• Albert told Shanna that his power and the Association's victories made another Death Eater trap unlikely and helped build wizards' confidence.
• Albert said he wanted to write a memoir exposing the war's truth and preserving its history for future generations.
• Albert and Shanna headed to the feast.

The Order of the Phoenix debated the consequences of Albert Anderson’s rescue operation and his efforts to bring more people into the fight against The Dark Lord. Kingsley proposed recruiting Ministry Aurors and publicizing Scrimgeour’s plan to mobilize the Ministry, while the Order remained divided over the risks.

• Moody criticized the Order’s gloomy reaction to the five people who had been rescued, while Diggle said they had not been worth the risk.
• Sirius Black, Hermione, and Arthur defended Albert Anderson’s efforts to recruit allies, arguing the Order could not defeat The Dark Lord alone.
• Moody warned that Albert’s radical methods could get many people killed, prompting Hermione to argue that winning the war mattered and that Muggle-born wizards faced imprisonment in Azkaban.
• Kingsley suggested persuading Ministry Aurors to join the Order and hinted that they could use force if the Aurors refused.
• Kingsley revealed Scrimgeour’s plan to mobilize the Ministry of Magic against The Dark Lord, and Moody recalled that Dumbledore had opposed the proposal over its likely casualties.

Harry and his friends celebrated foiling the Death Eaters’ plot, while Harry worried about mastering Fiendfyre before their planned Gringotts break-in. Outside the practice room, Hermione and Ron overheard Moody warning Kingsley that Albert was dangerous, but Kingsley insisted they needed Albert to win the war.

• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny ate pies and drank Butterbeer as they discussed Moody’s suspicion of Albert and Snape’s escape.
• Harry admitted his Fiendfyre training was progressing too slowly and considered it essential to their plan to find Hufflepuff’s Goblet in the Lestrange vault.
• Hermione led Ron out of the room, then told him she wanted Harry and Ginny together because she believed love could help Harry survive the war.
• Hermione and Ron overheard Moody tell Kingsley that Albert’s influence and indifference made him dangerous, while Kingsley argued that the resistance needed Albert’s strength and foresight.
• Hermione and Ron dismissed Moody’s suspicion as absurd and agreed that they needed Albert to defeat The Dark Lord.

As Voldemort searched Europe for Grigoriovich, the Death Eaters stayed quiet in Britain but began making Inferi from missing Muggles. Albert and Shanna concluded that the Defense Association could not stop the killings without provoking worse atrocities, and Albert prepared to alert the Order of the Phoenix.

• Voldemort continued searching Europe for Grigoriovich while European Ministries struggled to form an Auror task force against him.
• Lee Jordan warned listeners that hundreds of people, mostly homeless Muggles, had gone missing and that the Death Eaters might be creating Inferi.
• Lee Jordan asked Shanna whether the Defense Association should destroy the Inferi, but she explained that the Death Eaters would simply make more and might escalate their killings.
• Shanna told Lee Jordan that Albert expected to teach people how to fight Inferi later, and encouraged them to prepare for a possible battle against Inferi.
• Albert told Shanna that the Death Eaters were preparing for war and asked her to leak the Inferi threat to the Order of the Phoenix, while cautioning that provoking the Death Eaters could worsen the atrocities.