Chapter Summaries

Albert searched the Restricted Section for a way to use Ancient Runes as magic and found ancient spells that he copied down but could not safely understand or perform. Isabelle suggested the Runic-script-only Compendium of Magic, which Albert took from the library as a possible source of answers.

• Albert showed Madam Pince Professor Bludger’s note and was allowed into the Restricted Section to search its remaining books on Ancient Runes.
• Albert copied several ancient spells from a book but found them too difficult to understand without greater proficiency in Ancient Runes.
• Isabelle examined Albert’s wooden bracelet and learned that he had tried to use Runic script to enhance a Shield Charm.
• Albert explained that he needed spells or a way to guide the power of Runic script, and Isabelle recommended the Compendium of Magic.
• Albert took the Compendium of Magic and left the Restricted Section with Isabelle, while Katrina noticed them at the library desk.

Albert studied Compendium of Magic and reflected on the nature of ancient and modern magic, finding the book difficult to understand. He examined McDougal’s manuscript on ancient spellcasting and tried the Patronus Charm, but his attempt produced only a thin mist.

• Albert read that magic depended on willpower and that ancient spells such as Fiendfyre could be powerful but dangerous.
• Albert found the Runic incantation and carved-handle method for casting Gubraithian Fire, then studied the rest of Compendium of Magic until April.
• Professor Bludger told Albert that McDougal’s second-part manuscript was in final editing and that Obscurus Books had agreed to publish it at McDougal’s expense.
• Albert told Professor Bludger that McDougal’s third part was even harder to understand because it covered casting spells with Runic script.
• Albert tried the Patronus Charm and produced only a thin mist; his wand did not react when he attempted the spell with Ancient Runes.

As Easter approached, Albert worked on a Protective Bracelet and studied Ancient Runes, but his attempts to cast an ancient protective spell failed. Professor Bludger advised him to focus on the Shield Charm and gave him an invitation to a private gathering of Ancient Runes experts, leaving Albert unsure why he was being treated as one of them.

• Albert finished Protective Bracelet version 1.1, judged it a failure, and recorded that its runes had not improved on version 1.0.
• Albert read McDougal's manuscript about the ancient Full Protection spell and learned from Professor Bludger that his magical power and experience were insufficient to cast it.
• Professor Bludger demonstrated an invisible protective barrier and advised Albert to develop the Shield Charm rather than rush into ancient spells.
• Professor Bludger gave Albert an invitation to McDougal's gathering of Ancient Runes experts and called him the youngest expert.
• Albert felt bewildered that the experts wanted to meet him despite his young age.

Albert attended an Easter dinner at Lake House with Professor Bludger, McDougal, Tiberius Ogden, and Gerber Smith, where Smith explained why Albert’s protective bracelet had failed. After returning to Hogwarts, Albert realized Fred and George were missing after curfew.

• Daisy sent Albert Easter treats and a photograph of Tom sitting in a basket of eggs, while Shira delivered the package and urged Albert to reply home.
• Professor Bludger invited Albert to dinner at Lake House, where Albert met Ancient Runes experts Tiberius Ogden and Gerber Smith.
• Gerber Smith explained that Albert’s protective bracelet failed because he had carved runes without imbuing them with magic, and he and Ogden offered to correspond with Albert.
• Albert asked Professor Bludger whether someone had been missing from dinner, and Bludger said the Ancient Runes lineage had suffered a severe break.
• Lee Jordan returned to the dormitory after curfew without Fred or George, and Albert worried when he learned they were not in the Common Room.

After confirming Fred and George had entered the Forbidden Forest, Albert went in with Fang to find them while Lee Jordan returned to seek Professor McGonagall. The twins were trapped in a Protego Tree surrounded by Acromantulas, and they received Albert’s instructions to signal for help and find the centaurs.

• Lee Jordan told Albert that Fred and George had discovered the treasure map had changed and had kept it from him.
• Albert and Lee Jordan used a Secret Passage to leave the castle, but found Hagrid absent from his hut.
• Albert sent Shira to locate George, and the owl flew toward the Forbidden Forest, confirming the twins were inside.
• Albert sent Lee Jordan back to find Professor McGonagall and followed Fang into the forest with Fred’s hat.
• Shira found Fred and George surrounded by Acromantulas and dropped Albert’s message telling them to fire red sparks and seek the centaurs.
• George stopped Fred from firing the signal because he feared Albert might enter the forest alone and face the spiders.

Albert searched the Forbidden Forest for Fred and George with Fang, encountered centaurs who directed him toward the Acromantula territory, and was attacked by a giant spider. He began fighting back with spells, but the battle was still underway when the chapter ended.

• Albert followed Fang deeper into the Forbidden Forest, realized he was lost, and continued searching for Fred and George.
• Ronan and Bane confronted Albert, but Ronan recognized Fang and guided Albert toward the place where he had seen red sparks.
• Ronan warned Albert that the area ahead belonged to dangerous Acromantulas, while Bane objected to helping him.
• An Acromantula attacked Albert and Fang, and Albert escaped its first charge by using Apparition.
• Albert returned to the fight, cast several spells, and used Tarantallegra to make two of the Acromantula’s legs twitch uncontrollably.

Albert fought through the Forbidden Forest to reach Fred and George, who were trapped in a Protego Tree by a horde of Acromantulas. He blasted open a route and surrounded the tree with fire, then warned the twins not to climb down.

• Albert used Dancing Feet Jinxes and offensive spells to kill an Acromantula, then raised Arania Exumai to Level 2 and gained the Spider Hunter quest.
• Albert and Fang traveled deeper into the forest, where Albert repeatedly fought off Acromantulas and followed the red sparks Fred and George had fired.
• Albert found Fred and George surrounded by a spider army and trapped in a Protego Tree, where they fought the spiders back with Obstacle Curses.
• Albert considered how to reach the twins without exposing his ability to Apparate, then raised his Fire-Making Spell to Level 2.
• Albert blasted a path through the Acromantulas with Arania Exumai and raised two walls of fire around the Protego Tree.
• Fred and George prepared to climb down, but Albert called out and told them not to come down.

Albert rescued Fred and George from a swarm of Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, protecting them with spells until Professor Bludger arrived. He confiscated their treasure map and helped them escape by Portkey, leaving the twins sick as they headed for the Hospital Wing.

• Albert reached the Protego Tree with Fang, joined Fred and George, and told them Professor McGonagall had been sent for while they fired red sparks to signal for help.
• Albert defended the tree from the Acromantulas with protective spells, fire, and Arania Exumai, while the twins explained they had followed a supposed Gryffindor's Secret Treasure map.
• Albert took the map from Fred and helped George back into the tree after he fell, as the spiders retreated from the fight.
• Professor Bludger arrived and revealed he had followed Albert; he praised Albert's actions and prepared Fred's hat as a temporary Portkey.
• Albert, Fred, and George used the hat to return to Hogwarts, where the twins began retching and Professor Bludger sent them toward the Hospital Wing.

Albert rescued Fred and George from Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, and Dumbledore rewarded him with Gryffindor points and a Special Award for Services to the School. The professors later discussed the twins’ search for Gryffindor’s Secret Treasure and the legend of Hogwarts’ founders’ hidden treasures.

• Professor McGonagall, Professor Bludger, and Dumbledore found Albert, Fred, and George, and learned that Albert had rescued the twins from Acromantulas.
• At the Hospital Wing, Albert explained how he found the twins and used spells and the Protego Tree to escape the spiders; Fred showed the handkerchief instructions Albert had left for them.
• Professor McGonagall deducted one hundred points from each Weasley brother and gave them a week of detention, while Dumbledore awarded Albert a Special Award for Services to the School and two hundred Gryffindor points; Professor Bludger added fifty points.
• The twins admitted they had gone into the forest looking for Gryffindor’s Secret Treasure, and Albert said he had thrown their map away; Madam Pomfrey gave the three boys sleeping draughts.
• After Lee Jordan left, Professor Bludger said he was considering resigning, and Dumbledore and the professors discussed legends that the Hogwarts founders had left secret treasures in the castle.

After recovering from the rescue, Albert collected his quest rewards and discovered new quests involving repeated school awards and Gryffindor’s Secret Treasure. He set the treasure hunt aside and went to meet Professor Bludger, who had summoned him about his Acromantula venom reward.

• Albert thanked Fred and George for their gratitude after rescuing them from the Acromantulas.
• Albert completed the Spider Slayer quest and claimed experience for killing ninety-four Acromantulas.
• Albert discovered a quest to earn two more Special Awards for Services to the School and a quest to find Gryffindor’s Secret Treasure.
• Albert examined the altered treasure map but decided to postpone exploring the dangerous route through the Forbidden Forest.
• Albert collected his rescue rewards and learned from Katrina that Professor Bludger wanted to see him.
• Albert went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Office to meet Professor Bludger.

Albert visited Professor Bludger, received Mog McDougal’s newly published book and sold the Acromantula venom he had collected. Professor Bludger warned him about the dangers of seeking Gryffindor’s Secret Treasure, while Albert suspected Ravenclaw’s Secret Treasure might be hidden in the Room of Requirement.

• Albert thanked Professor Bludger for rescuing him and the Weasley twins from the Forbidden Forest.
• Professor Bludger showed Albert Mog McDougal’s book, Advanced Runic Script Research, which dedicated it to him as the youngest master of Runic Magic.
• Professor Bludger gave Albert a bottle of Acromantula venom, and Albert sold it to him for Galleons.
• Professor Bludger revealed he knew Albert still had the map to Gryffindor’s Secret Treasure and warned him not to enter the Forbidden Forest in search of it.
• Albert wondered if Ravenclaw’s Secret Treasure was hidden in the Room of Requirement, then told Professor Bludger he was curious about the Acromantulas in the forest.
• Professor Bludger asked about Albert’s redwood wand and reassured himself that Albert was cautious and well prepared.

Albert visited Hagrid after returning from the Forbidden Forest and warned him about the danger the Acromantulas posed to others. He left after advising Hagrid to keep his giant heritage secret and completed a task that increased Hagrid's favorability.

• Fred and George recovered from Portkey sickness, and Albert went to visit Hagrid with dog food for Fang.
• Albert told Hagrid about his encounter with Acromantulas and centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.
• Albert deduced that Hagrid had released the Acromantulas and warned that they could kill people even if they did not threaten Hagrid.
• Albert cautioned Hagrid not to reveal his giant blood because wizards feared giants.
• Albert left Hagrid's hut and completed the reminder task, earning experience and Hagrid's favorability.

Albert let Hogwarts students believe his rescue of Fred and George from the Forbidden Forest was only a rumor, while the points awarded to him and Lee Jordan suggested otherwise. He insisted the tale was fake to Katrina, and Isabelle explained that his denial had made it fake now.

• Rumors spread that Albert had fought monstrous spiders and rescued Fred and George, and he exaggerated the story to students before dismissing it as gossip.
• Shanna inferred the rescue was real from Gryffindor's sixty new points, while Albert claimed he and Lee Jordan had earned thirty points each for reporting the twins' disappearance to Professor McGonagall.
• Albert stopped Fred from revealing the truth by reminding him that he still had a week of detention with Filch.
• Isabelle told Albert that Professor Bludger wanted to see him, then warned him that the Trophy Room held a Special Award for Services to the School bearing his name.
• When Katrina asked whether the story was true, Albert and Isabelle both called it fake, and Isabelle explained that Albert's denial had made it fake.

Professor Brode resigned and gave the McDougal sisters their father’s sealed research inheritance, which Isabelle eventually agreed to keep. Albert searched the Room of Requirement for Ravenclaw’s Knowledge Vault and, after several failed attempts, found an eagle knocker that began asking him a question.

• Professor Brode told Albert and the McDougal sisters that he had resigned and that Snape would substitute for him.
• Professor Brode gave Albert a document pouch containing material about the postponed third part of Advanced Runic Script Research.
• Professor Brode revealed a Gringotts key and letter left by the McDougal sisters’ father; Isabelle first refused the inheritance, then agreed to keep it after Katrina objected.
• Albert tried several names for Ravenclaw’s hidden room, discovering a Chamber, a Treasure Vault, and a Private Library without completing the quest for Ravenclaw’s Knowledge Vault.
• Albert noticed an old board with an eagle-shaped knocker and Ravenclaw’s motto, knocked twice, and heard the knocker ask him a question.

Albert solved the Eagle-shaped bronze knocker’s riddle and learned that its answer was the letter e. After his friends encouraged him to challenge Ravenclaw’s riddles, the Quest Panel assigned him the goal of answering one hundred correctly in a row.

• Albert left the Room of Requirement after writing down the knocker’s riddle, unable to answer it at first.
• Albert showed the riddle to Fred, Lee Jordan, and George in the library, but none of them solved it.
• Albert realized the answer was the letter e, found in the words for eternity, time, space, and end.
• Angelina, Aaliyah, and George discussed Albert challenging the Eagle knocker, and George asked to come along.
• The Quest Panel gave Albert a quest to answer one hundred Eagle knocker riddles correctly in one go.

After Professor Bludger resigned, Albert discussed the rumored curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts post while the Weasley twins continued serving Filch’s detentions. Filch scheduled Fred and George to miss Gryffindor’s crucial Quidditch match, prompting them to plan revenge with help from Albert and Lee Jordan.

• Albert told Angelina, Lee Jordan, and Shanna that Defence Against the Dark Arts professors never lasted more than a year and suggested the post was cursed.
• Fred and George returned from detention exhausted after copying records of students’ offences, and Albert and Lee Jordan offered to supply them with U-No-Poo for revenge on Filch.
• Filch assigned Fred and George detention on the day of Gryffindor’s important match against Ravenclaw, making them miss the game.
• Fred asked whether Albert’s offer of U-No-Poo still stood, and Albert said it did but advised them to wait until the night before they left school.

Albert watched Gryffindor defeat Ravenclaw in a marathon Quidditch match and win the Quidditch Cup, while meeting Rowena Smith, an expert who wanted to speak with him. Smith later told Dumbledore he agreed to an unspecified matter, and Albert headed to celebrate with the Gryffindor team.

• Albert and Lee Jordan watched Gryffindor and Ravenclaw trade the lead as the match stretched into the evening.
• Katrina brought Albert to meet Rowena Smith, who praised his knowledge of Ancient Runes and spoke with him about a range of subjects.
• Charlie caught the Golden Snitch at eight in the evening, and Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup as Fred and George arrived in time to see the ending.
• Smith congratulated Albert and promised they would meet again, while Charlie raised the trophy and Albert walked toward the pitch.
• Dumbledore met Smith outside the pitch, and Smith said he agreed to an unspecified matter before leaving for Hogsmeade.

As Gryffindor and Slytherin students restrained their rivalry while final exams approached, Albert avoided the crowded library and spent time with Hagrid and Katrina. He tricked Katrina into accepting a wager involving Ravenclaw’s riddles, leaving her eager to prepare while he planned to use the contest to obtain questions and answers.

• Gryffindor students worked to protect their House Cup lead as Snape made his Potions lessons harsher and the Head Boy warned them not to provoke Slytherin.
• Albert told Hagrid he wanted alcohol and beeswax to make a garlic-scented amulet, and Hagrid offered to find the alcohol while warning him to stay out of Knockturn Alley.
• Albert relaxed by the lake, where Katrina questioned his exam guide and challenged him to compete over their final exam results.
• Albert refused the exam competition and proposed a wager: Katrina would win a gift worth ten Galleons if she answered one hundred Ravenclaw riddles correctly.
• Katrina countered with a wager of her own, and The Grey Lady agreed to witness their bet; Albert postponed it until after exams or the next term so Katrina could prepare.

Albert finished Hogwarts’ exams with ease, then was summoned by Professor Bubbling while preparing to visit Ravenclaw Tower with Katrina. After four Slytherin students tried to attack him, Professor Bubbling caught them in the act and deducted enough points to put Slytherin last in the House Cup standings.

• Albert completed the Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and History of Magic exams and earned top marks in his practical work.
• After the exams, Albert celebrated with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan and received Complete Guide to Basic Runes from Mr. McDougal.
• Albert spent the final days before the holidays by the lake while Slytherin’s Quidditch victory failed to secure the Quidditch Cup.
• Katrina approached Albert about their plans, but four Slytherin students came over and tried to start a fight with him.
• Albert tripped one attacker and disarmed another as Professor Bubbling arrived and took eighty points from Slytherin.
• Fred, George, and Lee spread the news, and Slytherin fell to last place in the House Cup standings, angering its students and Snape.

As Gryffindor and Slytherin escalated their feud, Gryffindor students retaliated against Slytherin with humiliating attacks, while Snape struggled to identify the culprits. Albert avoided trouble with the Disillusionment Charm and received a package from Hagrid containing supplies for making Garlic Crucifixes.

• Slytherin students attacked Gryffindors, sending three to the Hospital Wing and putting Gryffindor's House Cup lead at risk as Ravenclaw drew close.
• The Gryffindor student council president led attacks that stripped Slytherin students and left them hanging upside down with their heads in toilets; more Slytherins were later displayed in an embrace outside the Great Hall.
• Snape questioned the victims but found no useful information, then suspected Gryffindor students, who denied involvement and pointed to their alibis and lack of evidence.
• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan followed the spreading incidents, while Albert protected himself from ambushes with the Disillusionment Charm.
• An owl delivered Albert a package from Hagrid containing alcohol and beeswax, which Albert said he would use to make Garlic Crucifixes.