Chapter Summaries

Albert led the Aurors in surprise attacks against Death Eaters while Hogwarts defended itself from a huge Inferi assault. Voldemort held his main force back as Yaxley’s attack continued, unaware that Albert had helped devise the offensive plan.

• Aurors saw a horde of Inferi enter Hogwarts, and Albert told them to target the Dark Wizards gathering near the Forbidden Forest instead.
• Albert led the Aurors in surprise bombardments against the gathered Dark Wizards and Death Eaters, then moved them to avoid retaliation.
• Hogwarts defenders used statues, trenches, fire, and spells to contain the Inferi attacking the castle.
• Newly joined Death Eaters urged Voldemort to launch a full assault, but Voldemort told Yaxley to proceed at his own pace.
• Voldemort kept several hundred Dark Wizards in reserve, unaware that Albert had helped devise Yaxley’s offensive plan.

Yaxley’s carefully planned attack on Hogwarts began, but the prepared defenders repelled the Dementors and turned the assault against the giants into a rout. As the Weasley twins claimed the first giant kill, the students rushed to join the fight.

• Albert’s preparations and Yaxley’s secret guidance helped Voldemort’s forces organize their assault on Hogwarts.
• Yaxley explained the attack plan to Voldemort and signaled the second wave with a Dark Mark.
• The Dementors surged toward Hogwarts, but the defenders drove them back with corporeal Patronuses.
• The giants attacked across the Stone Bridge but were obstructed by Inferi, animated armor, statues, and broom-riding fighters.
• Fred and George disarmed a giant and helped the statues knock it down before spearing its skull.
• The Weasley twins celebrated their first kill as the other giant hunters hurried to claim one of their own.

The Defense Association defeated the giants on the Stone Bridge and turned toward the castle, wary that Dementors and Dark Wizards could still threaten the battle. At the viaduct, Neville prepared Dumbledore’s Army to stop the invading Werewolves with Mandrakes, accepting that the plan could kill many of them.

• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan brought down a giant, while the wizards defeated the remaining giants on the Stone Bridge.
• The Dementors regrouped and attacked, but the wizards repelled them with Patronuses; George said Albert expected Dark Wizards to launch a surprise attack on the castle.
• After the last giant fell, the group flew toward the castle, and Cedric worried about the fighting elsewhere while the others said they had to trust Neville.
• Neville gave Dumbledore’s Army earmuffs and reviewed the plan to throw Mandrakes at Werewolves crossing the viaduct.
• Neville accepted that using the Mandrakes could kill many Werewolves, reasoning that stopping them there would prevent greater danger and casualties elsewhere.

Neville and Nelson Tobin prepared to ambush the Werewolves charging across an overpass, using Mandrakes to incapacitate them and give Nelson time to attack. The Werewolves fell into the trap, and Neville signaled the house-elves to destroy the bridge as Nelson’s bombardment remained to come.

• Nelson Tobin told Neville that their mission was to hold the overpass and help eliminate the approaching Werewolves, while a later battle against Dark Wizards still awaited them.
• Neville organized the group, arranged for Mandrakes to be carried on broomsticks, and prepared to deal with the Dementors before the Werewolves arrived.
• Red sparks signaled that the Werewolves had surged onto the overpass, and the group’s Mandrake cries caused the attackers to collapse in heaps.
• Neville changed the plan and fired green sparks beneath the bridge to signal the house-elves to blow up the overpass and trap the Werewolves.

Nelson Tobin and Neville used Mandrakes to devastate the Werewolves after the viaduct collapsed, while Voldemort’s forces began attacking Hogwarts from multiple directions. Hagrid and the Centaurs joined the battle against the Acromantulas, helping stabilize the defenders as dark wizards infiltrated the castle.

• Nelson Tobin threw a Mandrake into the trapped Werewolves, whose cries brought down many of them after the viaduct collapsed.
• Neville joined Nelson Tobin and accepted the destruction of the Werewolves as part of their war effort.
• Meteors struck Hogwarts as dark figures infiltrated the castle, following Voldemort’s plan to attack from three directions.
• Hagrid led the Centaurs into battle after choosing to stand with Harry’s allies rather than Aragog’s descendants.
• Firenze and the Centaurs shot down Acromantulas that had crossed the defensive line.
• Abforth rallied the wavering defenders and prevented the Acromantulas from breaking their line.

Abforth struggled to hold the Acromantulas back with a poorly trained team while Hogwarts came under attack by Death Eaters. After the Centaurs arrived, he gathered the capable fighters to eliminate the spiders, leaving the others exposed as Hagrid mourned a dead student.

• Abforth fought Acromantulas alongside frightened rookies and relied on Arania Exumai to keep the line from collapsing.
• The Centaurs arrived and boosted the defenders’ morale, while Hagrid joined Abforth with Fang and a bow.
• Colin Creevey and Dennis suggested returning to Hogwarts Castle, but Tonks insisted they defeat the spiders before sending anyone back.
• Abforth regrouped the dependable fighters into a cleanup unit to reduce the Acromantulas’ numbers, leaving the less capable fighters to fend for themselves.
• Hagrid stared in shock at a student’s corpse after an Acromantula killed them, and Abforth urged him to stop standing idle.

Aberforth and Mr. Tonks fought to contain the Acromantulas while Dementors and panic shattered the inexperienced fighters’ defenses. After Aberforth’s group defeated the spiders, they chose not to reinforce the brutal battle at the castle, where untrained newcomers would likely become cannon fodder.

• Dumbledore’s Army regained momentum against the Acromantulas by using Arania Exumai, while Mr. Tonks saw inexperienced fighters panic and forget the counter-charm.
• Aberforth warned that Dementors were approaching, but Colin managed only a wisp of mist when he tried to cast Expecto Patronum.
• Mr. Tonks led a small team to help Aberforth, while weak Patronuses failed to stop the Dementors from breaking the other fighters’ lines and leaving many dead.
• Aberforth’s group used Arania Exumai to defeat the remaining Acromantulas, but Aberforth and Mr. Tonks mourned the losses and blamed the fighters’ lack of preparation.
• Mr. Tonks asked whether they should support the battle at the castle, but Aberforth refused, judging that they would only become cannon fodder.

Albert kept Harry waiting in the Headmaster's office while Voldemort began his assault, confident that Voldemort would first search the Room of Requirement for Ravenclaw's Diadem. As the defenders ambushed the invading Dark Wizards, Voldemort found the hiding place buried beneath a collapsed mountain of trash and began searching for the Horcrux.

• Harry asked Albert whether he should join the battle, and Albert told him to wait until Voldemort gave up searching for his Horcrux.
• Albert conjured Ravenclaw's Diadem and explained that Voldemort would look for it in the Room of Requirement.
• Voldemort launched a full-scale assault on the castle, and Dark Wizards entered through blasted breaches and windows.
• Fred and George's squad repeatedly ambushed the invaders, defeating twenty-one Dark Wizards before retreating as the enemy began moving in groups.
• Voldemort reached the Room of Requirement without meeting resistance and found the trash heap where he had hidden Ravenclaw's Diadem had collapsed over it.

Voldemort believed Ravenclaw's Diadem was buried beneath the collapsed rubbish in the Room of Requirement and stayed behind to protect it, giving Albert Anderson an opening. After Voldemort ordered the defenders to surrender, Albert led his forces into a direct attack on the Death Eaters.

• Voldemort suspected Albert had set a trap around his final Horcrux and agonized over whether to leave the Room of Requirement.
• Voldemort decided to stay and retrieve the Diadem, then left the room to command the Death Eaters to seize Hogwarts and force the defenders to surrender.
• Voldemort magically demanded that everyone lay down their weapons or face punishment for themselves and their families.
• Albert realized Voldemort had mistakenly believed the Diadem was in the rubbish heap and led his forces to attack the outnumbered Death Eaters’ opponents head-on.

Bill and Fleur’s team used ambushes and lethal tactics to cut down Death Eaters while trying to avoid the main force gathering under Yaxley. Yaxley organized three teams to attack the defenders, but his advance was stalled by a magically dark corridor filled with poison gas.

• Bill warned the others not to leave unconscious Dark Wizards alive, and killed the prisoners they had knocked down while Fleur explained that castle watchers might misread the situation.
• Bill and Fleur’s team ambushed three approaching Dark Wizards, then used Fleur’s map to plan a route around the main force.
• Yaxley gathered Dark Wizards and formed three fifteen-person teams to attack the remaining defenders and support the Werewolves, giants, and Acromantulas.
• Yaxley’s group encountered a pitch-black corridor filled with poison gas, and after someone nearly drowned in a swamp, they turned back to find another route.

Shanna coordinated the defenders from the kitchen as Yaxley’s forces changed course and enemy teams threatened their lines. Albert and Kingsley prepared to break through the encirclement on the fourth and fifth floors, accepting that some fighters might have to be left behind; the battle was turning against them despite their early advantage.

• Hermione and Ron returned to the kitchen after diverting Yaxley’s group, and Shanna told them enemy teams were trying to attack the defenders from behind.
• Shanna sent Hermione and Ron, accompanied by Moody, to reinforce Hagrid’s side near the Forbidden Forest and help Abforth’s team hold off the Dark Wizards.
• Shanna received Albert’s request to gather people to block a dark wizard force on the third floor and saw that the defenders’ early advantage was fading.
• Shanna learned that a seven-person Auror team had been wiped out after being betrayed by fellow Aurors.
• Albert told Kingsley that they needed a breakthrough to avoid being worn down, and Kingsley decided to stay behind to organize the fighters left to hold the enemy back.
• Albert and Kingsley planned to eliminate the Dark Wizards on the fourth and fifth floors first, while accepting that some of their scattered forces might be left behind.

Albert explained that he avoided openly slaughtering Dark Wizards to prevent the Wizarding War from turning into a massacre, but secretly used ruthless methods to eliminate Voldemort’s forces and protect his family. After splitting from the others to clear the fourth floor, he controlled a Dark Wizard and sent him back among his comrades as an unwitting spy.

• Albert told Sirius Black and the others that openly using Dark magic against large numbers of Dark Wizards would provoke Voldemort and risk a retaliatory massacre.
• Lupin spotted five Dark Wizards, and the group quickly defeated them before continuing their advance with Albert’s help.
• Albert split from the others, taking the fourth floor while they moved to the fifth, and Sirius Black complained that Albert had been making excuses.
• Alone, Albert used the Imperius Curse to make Dark Wizards pose as allies and ambush their own side, intending to eliminate Voldemort’s followers before they could threaten his family.
• Albert cast Soul Possession on a fallen Dark Wizard, who rejoined his comrades and followed their plan to gather their forces and overwhelm the enemy.

Truman’s team regrouped with Percy after escaping Dark Wizard reinforcements, and Albert reported that Mark and Erin had died while fighting. On the fifth floor, Albert found Sirius Black’s team trapped and badly depleted, forcing him to reconsider his plan as the resistance suffered heavy losses.

• Penelope warned Truman’s team that Dark Wizards were approaching, and they used smoke bombs and a toy to cover their retreat.
• Truman’s team reunited with Percy’s team, and Percy asked about Albert’s plan to clear the fourth and fifth floors.
• Albert arrived and said Mark and Erin had died after taking down several Dark Wizards, while their young son Aaron would be cared for by survivors.
• Albert went to the fifth floor and found Sirius Black, Lupin, and one other teammate besieged after the other members of their five-person team had fallen.
• Sirius Black told Albert that the Dark Wizards had become more coordinated and that the resistance’s plan would likely need to change.

Albert used the Banshee’s Wail to swiftly defeat groups of Dark Wizards on the fifth floor while explaining to Sirius Black and Lupin why extraordinary wizards were difficult to kill. He said Dumbledore had already found a way to kill Voldemort and that their preparations for the final step were nearly complete.

• After Shanna warned them that Kingsley's group was in danger, the allies sent most of their people back to reinforce them and left Albert to clear the fifth floor.
• The Dark Wizards rapidly took the first and second floors, but Shanna and the house-elves helped the allied teams retreat and establish new defensive lines.
• Albert used earmuffs and a metal rod to unleash the Banshee’s Wail, knocking out a squad of more than thirty Dark Wizards and some allied wizards nearby.
• Albert told Lupin to revive their allies, then instructed Sirius Black and Lupin to throw the unconscious Dark Wizards from the fifth-floor windows.
• As they headed to the sixth floor, Albert explained that extraordinary wizards were as formidable as Dumbledore and that Voldemort could not be killed in a direct fight.
• Albert told Sirius Black that Dumbledore had found a method to kill Voldemort and that their preparations for the final step were nearly finished.

Neville’s team reunited with Fred, George, and Cedric as the Dark Wizards began gathering in larger forces. The combined group was sent to ambush a force of two or three hundred Dark Wizards on the third floor, where their surprise attack broke the enemy’s formation.

• Fred, George, and Cedric’s giant-hunting team appeared behind Neville’s group after the battle.
• Cedric explained that the Dark Wizards were gathering in larger groups, so the teams needed to combine forces.
• Neville and Hannah told them that their Mandrake had all been used against the Werewolves, and Nelson Tobin went back to search for more.
• Cedric received a mission to help the professors hold back a force of two or three hundred Dark Wizards on the third floor.
• A house-elf took the combined teams to the Boys’ Lavatory, and the group used Disillusionment Charms to approach the battlefield.
• The group ambushed the Dark Wizards from behind, and the enemy panicked and collapsed.

Neville, Cedric, and the others cleared a corridor of Dark Wizards and debated their decision to kill the incapacitated enemies. Professor McGonagall joined them as Nelson Tobin arrived with one Mandrake, and the group planned to reinforce the other defenders while avoiding its dangerous cry.

• Lee Jordan kicked an unconscious Death Eater who had killed one of their allies, while George and the others gathered loot from the fallen Dark Wizards.
• Neville and the other students finished off the incapacitated enemies, and Cedric explained to Professor McGonagall that they were treating the fight as a war.
• Professor McGonagall asked whether Harry had found Voldemort's treasure, and Cedric said they should reinforce the others instead.
• Nelson Tobin arrived with the Mandrake he had found and warned the group to avoid accidental exposure to its cry.
• Nelson Tobin headed toward the stairwell to lie in wait while Fred's group prepared to clear the Dark Wizards on the third floor.

Nelson Tobin ambushed the Dark Wizards with a Mandrake, killing many and leaving Yaxley’s group in disarray. He chose not to pursue the survivors, fearing that pressing the attack would cost him his life.

• Nelson Tobin followed Liquid Luck to a classroom near the stairwell and hid there with a Mandrake.
• Yaxley led the surviving Dark Wizards away from the first Mandrake attack, realizing that more than half their group had fallen.
• Nelson Tobin placed a Mandrake by the classroom door, and its cries made many Dark Wizards collapse unconscious or die.
• Yaxley and several others covered their ears and retreated, while the shaken Death Eaters looked to him for a plan.
• Nelson Tobin decided against chasing the survivors, judging that he would become a target and likely be killed.

After the Death Eaters suffered a disastrous defeat at Hogwarts, Yaxley proposed forcing Harry Potter to duel Voldemort by threatening his loved ones. Voldemort remained unaware that he had been tricked about the Room of Requirement and destroyed its entrance to protect the diadem he believed was inside.

• Yaxley’s fellow Death Eaters demanded a decision after the battle left their forces badly wounded and demoralized.
• Yaxley proposed that the Death Eaters threaten Harry Potter’s family and friends to make him duel Voldemort.
• The Death Eaters summoned Voldemort through their Dark Marks, but he did not respond while waiting near the Room of Requirement.
• Voldemort wrongly concluded that Harry Potter was waiting to destroy Ravenclaw’s Diadem and cursed the Room of Requirement’s entrance before leaving.

Albert confronted Voldemort at Hogwarts, admitted he had been weakening Voldemort’s forces, and refused to kill him because Harry Potter had to fulfill the prophecy. After Voldemort escaped, Albert explained that the final duel was meant to ensure Voldemort’s death, and Voldemort began speaking directly to Harry.

• Voldemort arrived to confront Albert, who admitted that he had been killing Voldemort’s servants to weaken him.
• Voldemort offered Albert a partnership, but Albert rejected him and insisted Voldemort belonged to Harry Potter.
• Voldemort challenged Albert to a duel to the death, then escaped through a window as black smoke.
• Albert told the Order of the Phoenix that Voldemort had to choose the confrontation himself and that Harry had no other choice but to face him.
• Albert said his duel with Voldemort would serve as a safeguard to ensure Voldemort died for good.
• Voldemort’s voice reached the group as he began addressing Harry directly.

Harry faced Albert in a Death Duel before the remaining fighters, revealing that Dumbledore had arranged the events leading to the duel and the war’s inevitable defeat. Albert struck first with the Killing Curse, and Harry met it without resistance.

• Harry left the Resurrection Stone on Dumbledore’s desk and went with Albert toward the castle gates.
• The gathered fighters realized that most of Albert’s forces had vanished, including the Werewolves, and some Dark Wizards began considering retreat.
• Albert challenged Harry to a Death Duel, and Harry said Dumbledore had planned his own death, Harry’s role, Albert’s acquisition of the Elder Wand, and the war’s outcome.
• Harry raised his wand, but Albert reacted faster and cast Avada Kedavra.
• Phineas observed that Harry had not used a spell to fight back, while Harry met the green light without resistance.