Chapter Summaries

Filch told Vizet that the Squib Support Association had found possible Squib leaders in North American occult organizations, and Ms. Oakby planned to investigate. During a Potions lesson, Snape tested Vizet’s advanced potion and asked how his work on improving its formula was progressing.

• Filch explained that the North American branch of the Squib Support Association suspected several occult organizations had Squib core members, and Ms. Oakby would investigate in person.
• Filch thanked Vizet for helping Squibs seek a chance to become Wizards, then left to deal with Peeves.
• Snape watched Vizet brew an advanced potion and questioned him about his careful preparation of the dates.
• Snape tested the potion on a dried, blackened toad, restored it, and awarded Ravenclaw five points.
• Snape asked Vizet how his improvement of the potion formula was coming along.

Vizet gave Snape a radically revised Polyjuice Potion formula that could be brewed in three hours. Snape traced its unfamiliar ingredient-processing methods to books lent by Kamba Headmaster and questioned Vizet about how he had refined them.

• Vizet handed Snape the latest potion formula and began cleaning the brewing tools.
• Snape saw that the formula was much shorter than the previous version and discovered it reduced the brewing time to three hours.
• Snape examined the formula’s ingredients and brewing steps, deducing that Vizet had used unusual methods to process Fluxweed and Knotgrass.
• Snape asked where Vizet had learned those methods, and Vizet named The Inner Form: On the Potion of Blood, Grass Leaves, and Self-Cognition, a book lent by Kamba Headmaster.
• Snape asked about another technique in the formula, and Vizet said he had found it in Moon Phases, Herbs, and Liquid Forms and consulted other books to calculate the standing time.

Snape examined Vizet’s improved potion formula and prompted him to consider what adding animal tissue would make it. Vizet applied Arithmancy and Golpalott’s Third Law, then concluded that the drinker’s saliva would work; Snape ended the discussion by deducting a point from Ravenclaw.

• Snape questioned Vizet about the formula’s use of the drinker’s hair, blood, and Mandrake root, and Vizet explained how they helped anchor the drinker’s soul.
• Snape asked what kind of potion the formula became after animal tissue was added, and Vizet checked the parchment and used Arithmancy to identify Golpalott’s Third Law as a missed consideration.
• Vizet proposed using the drinker’s saliva, explaining that Canary Cream’s principle would counter the potion’s toxicity and that saliva would strengthen its connection to the drinker.
• Snape realized Vizet had already supplied the guidance he intended to give and deducted one point from Ravenclaw.
• Vizet asked Snape whether he had lost the point because his analysis still had shortcomings.

Vizet explained to Snape how Luna’s story and cases from St. Mungo’s inspired him to change his approach to improving Polyjuice Potion, using ingredients from the drinker to help stabilize the soul against Animal Instinct. He then revealed that studying Voldemort’s Flying Charm had deepened his understanding of the Path of Magic, prompting Snape to question whether he had been influenced by it.

• Snape asked why Vizet’s latest improved potion formula differed from his earlier versions, and Vizet explained Luna’s story about children choosing to soil a sofa rather than a bed.
• Vizet described how he had first tried to protect a drinker’s soul from Animal Instinct with many ingredients, but found that approach too costly and difficult to promote.
• Inspired by Luna’s story, Vizet proposed using materials from the drinker to create a supportive element that would help stabilize the soul and build experience crossing Animal Instinct.
• Vizet recalled St. Mungo’s Healers treating self-made beauty potions by giving patients real beauty potions whose effects replaced the homemade ones.
• Vizet said that sorting out Voldemort’s Flying Charm had further changed his understanding of the Path of Magic, and Snape asked whether Vizet understood Voldemort’s path or had been influenced by it.

Vizet explained that he had understood Voldemort’s Flying Charm by studying his Path of Magic and shared notes describing the spell and Vizet’s improvements. Snape, who wanted to learn everything about Voldemort, asked Vizet what he would think if Snape someday had to point his Wand at him, then ended the lesson before hearing his answer.

• Snape asked whether Vizet had again encountered Voldemort’s Path of Magic, and Vizet explained that he had glimpsed it by understanding Voldemort’s past.
• Vizet described how Voldemort’s Solipsism shaped the Flying Charm and explained that he had improved the spell by reversing Voldemort’s method of subtraction.
• Snape learned that Vizet had recorded the Path of Magic and the Flying Charm’s principles, and Vizet gave him a copied notebook containing his improvements.
• Snape asked whether Vizet had learned about Snape and Voldemort from Quirinus Quirrell, then asked what Vizet would think if Snape ever had to point his Wand at him.
• Snape ended the lesson before Vizet could answer, but Vizet declared that his answer was firm; Snape remained alone with the unopened notebook, deep in thought.

Snape read Vizet’s notes on several ways to practice the Flying Charm and realized that a method based on an unforgettable, vanished Anchor Point suited him best. He tried to summon that memory through Silver Light, but the vision left him overwhelmed with grief and remorse.

• Snape fed the Horklump, then read Vizet’s notebook and confirmed that Vizet had not been influenced by Voldemort’s path of Solipsism.
• Snape studied the Improved Flying Charm and Voldemort’s Flying Charm, judging the former unsuitable for him and the latter too dangerous to practice.
• Snape found Vizet’s note that an unforgettable Anchor Point that no longer existed could be used to practice the Flying Charm, and recognized it as the method best suited to him.
• Snape raised Silver Light into the image of a ruined house, a silver Doe, and a woman, then insisted that the figures were not Lily and that they were all part of him.
• Snape saw gentle eyes appear in the Silver Light and apologized, vowing that he did not want something like this to happen again.

Snape completed his Flying Charm by using Soul Blade Healing to sever the dark figure pulling at him, then hurtled forward and wondered if he had crashed into a wall. During Harry and Ernie McMillan’s basement patrol, a tremendous crash and spreading smoke interrupted their conversation.

• Snape was pulled between a Silver Light hand and a masked figure resembling his former self in a Dark Abyss.
• Snape cast Soul Blade Healing, cutting apart the figure and completing his Flying Charm.
• The Flying Charm propelled Snape forward, though he could not tell whether he was flying or hitting a wall.
• Harry and Ernie McMillan patrolled the basement after seeing Fred and George distract Mrs. Norris with leaves and evade Filch.
• A tremendous crash erupted near Harry and Ernie as smoke and dust spread through the basement.

Snape tested a Flying Charm built on painful memories and a drive toward the future, then unexpectedly crossed paths with Harry and Ernie after blasting through a corridor wall. Harry suspected the Snape he saw was an impostor, but Snape turned back toward them before Harry could seek help.

• Harry cast Protego and steadied Ernie McMillan after a crash sent smoke and dust through the corridor.
• Snape cleared the dust with Scourgify, revealing a hole smashed through the wall, while Harry and Ernie stared at him in shock.
• Snape reflected that his Flying Charm used past pain as an anchor and the desire for the future as its driving force.
• Snape walked away toward the Hospital Wing, then realized he should respond to encountering Harry and Ernie and turned back.
• Harry told Ernie that Snape was acting strangely and wondered if he was an impostor, then saw Snape return.

Snape caught Harry and Ernie McMillan near a damaged wall, deducted points from their houses, and repaired it before leaving. Later, Draco delivered Snape’s parchment to Vizet and described how he and Goyle had brewed the Shapeshifting Potion.

• Snape accused Harry and Ernie McMillan of neglecting their duties as prefects and deducted ten points each from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
• Snape repaired the damaged wall with a spell, deducted another ten points from each house, and returned to his office.
• Harry decided Snape’s behavior proved he was genuine, and he and Ernie abandoned their plan to find a professor.
• Draco gave Vizet a parchment from Snape and said the professor had told him to deliver it personally.
• Vizet asked Draco about brewing the Shapeshifting Potion, and Draco said he and Goyle had made several batches with few failures.
• Draco explained that Goyle’s failed batch resulted from him losing focus and eating beside the cauldron.

Vizet read Snape’s parchment and discovered a meticulous, unnamed potion formula designed to help a wizard confront self-deception and understand the Flying Charm. He recognized Snape’s extensive work in the formula and in his broader research, which he could combine with the maxims of his Emerald Tablet to refine the charm’s theory.

• Draco told Vizet that Gregory Goyle had ruined a potion by dropping jam and biscuit crumbs into the cauldron, earning several days of detention from Professor Snape.
• Draco left to bring Goyle food before Potions Class, while Vizet and Luna continued toward the Common Room.
• On the Moving Staircase, Vizet read Snape’s notes explaining that mastering the Flying Charm required understanding one’s soul, will, and beliefs.
• Vizet studied Snape’s unnamed potion formula, which used ingredients and instructions based on the Living Death Potion and Veritaserum to help brew a potion that exposed truths a person avoided.
• Vizet read Snape’s further research incorporating extensions of the Patronus Charm and Soul Healing Art, and saw how it could help him refine Flying Charm theory with his Emerald Tablet maxims.

Draco Malfoy and Cedric Diggory discussed their future careers and compared their progress with Animagus practice as they headed to Professor McGonagall's office. Draco revealed that he had mastered dispelling the Shapeshifting Potion's effects with spells, while Cedric had not yet crossed the “Animal Instinct.”

• Draco used the Wand-Lighting Charm to warm himself after closing a window against the snowstorm, and Cedric joined him.
• Draco and Cedric discussed the kinds of magic they excelled at and the careers they planned to pursue.
• Cedric said he had explored work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, while Draco planned to take over the Malfoy Family's affairs.
• Draco and Cedric discovered they were both going to Professor McGonagall's office because of their Animagus practice.
• Draco told Cedric he had mastered the Animagus transformation over the summer by following Vizet's paper and had later used the Shapeshifting Potion in his practice.
• Draco said he could now dispel the Shapeshifting Potion's effects with spells, while Cedric had not yet completed the crossing of the “Animal Instinct.”

Cedric and Draco visited Professor McGonagall’s office and sat in on a discussion between her, Professor Flitwick, and Vizet about improving the Shapeshifting Potion. The professors’ research continued as Vizet contributed key ideas, while Cedric and Draco learned from the discussion despite struggling to follow it.

• Cedric and Draco entered Professor McGonagall’s office, where she and Professor Flitwick were already discussing magic with Vizet.
• Professor Flitwick explained that the Universal Counter-Curse could replace the specialized spell used with the Shapeshifting Potion.
• Vizet connected Professor Flitwick’s idea to Ritual Magic and proposed a new approach to the professors.
• Cedric and Draco listened, shared snacks, and watched magical demonstrations as the discussion grew difficult to understand.
• Vizet explained the professors’ questions to Cedric and Draco and quickly summoned books to support the discussion.

Vizet brewed a modified Shapeshifting Potion while Draco and Cedric learned that Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, not Vizet, had initiated the Animagus research. The professors prepared their office for the experiment and explained why Cedric and Draco had been chosen as practitioners.

• Vizet prepared a mixed poison by modifying the Shapeshifting Potion, and he explained to Draco that the method required a thorough understanding of the potion.
• Cedric assumed Vizet had initiated the research, but Draco told him that Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were the initiators.
• Draco and Cedric discussed why Cedric had been chosen, concluding that many Gryffindors had abandoned Animagus practice because its early stages were boring.
• Professor Flitwick moved and shrank the office bookshelves with magic, and Vizet deduced how his space-changing technique worked.
• The chapter explained that Professor McGonagall chose Cedric for the control group because he had completed Animagus training and could transform skillfully, while no Gryffindor student had persevered through the practice.

Cedric practiced maintaining a corporeal Patronus in his Animagus form but still struggled to cross “Animal Instinct,” so Professor McGonagall gave him a prepared Shapeshifting Draught to help. Meanwhile, Draco successfully controlled his Hoggs Patronus while transformed, and Vizet prepared to move him on to the next stage.

• Cedric maintained a stable mountain lion Patronus for five minutes while in his Animagus form, but told Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick he still could not cross “Animal Instinct.”
• Professor McGonagall gave Cedric a Shapeshifting Draught, and he added Jaguar hair before drinking it to practice casting the Universal Counter-Curse while transformed.
• Vizet explained the practice steps for crossing “Animal Instinct” to Draco, who repeated them back before beginning.
• Draco summoned his Hoggs Patronus, transformed into a Hoggs with the aid of his wand, and controlled the Patronus so it gave off light and warmth.
• Vizet told Draco to change back so they could move on to the next stage.

Draco asked Vizet to help recreate a memorable scene from his home, and Vizet proposed using Draco’s Occlumency memories and Legilimency alongside a strengthened Wand-Lighting Charm. Draco trusted Vizet and began constructing a memory, which Vizet started to reveal as a furnished room.

• Draco returned to human form and asked Vizet not to use the Confundus Charm to help him yet.
• Draco asked Vizet to recreate a memorable scene from his home, and Vizet suggested using Draco’s constructed memories.
• Vizet explained that he would strengthen the Wand-Lighting Charm’s effects to stir traits associated with the Malfoy family’s French origins and the Gallic Rooster.
• Draco agreed to the attempt because he trusted Vizet, and Vizet began using Legilimency.
• Draco drew out a silver thread of memory, and Vizet presented a mahogany armchair, tea table, tea set, and burning fireplace.

Draco used the Shapeshifting Potion and Vizet’s guidance to enter an Animagus state and approach the sensation of crossing “Animal Instinct.” The Wand-Lighting Charm’s flame led him into a vivid memory of his parents supporting his wish to travel with Lucius, where Narcissa explained that she had only wanted him to have a better life.

• Draco recognized that Vizet had made the fireplace flame from a Wand-Lighting Charm containing “glory,” and chose to begin without further changes.
• Draco transformed into a Hoggs and used Vizet’s insights to sense the world around him and focus on the enchanted flame.
• The flame guided Draco into a memory at Malfoy Manor of asking Lucius to take him on a business trip.
• Narcissa told Lucius that she supported Draco’s wish to travel and explained that she had opposed Durmstrang because she wanted him to be well cared for.
• Narcissa told Draco that she had only wanted him to have a better life, a moment he remembered as the start of understanding his parents.

Draco crossed beyond “Animal Instinct” and summoned a Corporeal Patronus after the “glory” Wand-Lighting Charm helped him reconnect with the happiness of changing for the better. Vizet realized Draco’s experience could refine their research and suggested he channel the lingering Consensus Magic through the Sunny Skies Charm.

• Draco recalled how Vizet’s “glory” Wand-Lighting Charm had inspired him to change and imagined his parents’ smiles as he cast Expecto Patronum in his Animagus state.
• Draco returned to human form and saw his Corporeal Patronus, a Hoggs, then celebrated becoming the first to cross beyond “Animal Instinct.”
• Draco explained that the Wand-Lighting Charm had guided him into familiar memories and helped him awaken the happiness that let him cast the Patronus Charm.
• Vizet noted Draco’s findings and planned to discuss them with Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall to help Cedric and advance their research.
• Draco described an urge to act that Vizet identified as unreleased Consensus Magic, then suggested he try the Sunny Skies Charm.

Vizet helped Draco prepare to cast the Sunny Skies Charm by linking it to Draco’s Wand-Lighting Charm and an earlier Occlumency exercise. With Vizet’s ritual array in place, Draco cast the charm as the chapter ended.

• Draco doubted he could cast the Sunny Skies Charm in the storm, but Vizet said his Wand-Lighting Charm gave him a suitable foundation.
• Vizet explained that Weather Charms worked by guiding nature and letting the outside world respond to the caster’s state of mind.
• Vizet reminded Draco that he had once filled the room of his soul with light during an informal Occlumency exercise, and Draco recalled the method.
• Vizet prepared a Ritual Magic Array to help Draco cast an effective charm, noting that many people wanted clear weather before the Christmas holiday.
• Draco regained his confidence and cast the Sunny Skies Charm with the incantation “Azure Sky Like Washing!”

Ron was dragged out of bed for Quidditch practice despite a blizzard, but a sudden flash drove away the storm. Angelina Johnson seized the chance to claim the pitch, leaving Ron to complain that she seemed possessed by Oliver Wood’s determination.

• Fred and George pulled Ron’s quilt away to wake him for Quidditch practice, while Angelina Johnson and Harry waited nearby.
• Angelina Johnson insisted the team train before Christmas because they would face Hufflepuff after the holiday, despite the heavy snow.
• The wind blew the dormitory window open, and Fred and George shut it while conceding that the weather was too dangerous for practice.
• A brilliant light appeared outside, and the blizzard vanished, leaving clear skies and warm sunlight.
• Angelina Johnson hurried to gather Alicia and Katie and ordered Ron to get dressed so they could reach the Quidditch Pitch before another team claimed it.
• Ron flopped onto his bed and wondered if Oliver Wood had sacrificed himself on the pitch and possessed Angelina Johnson.

Ron, Harry, and the twins were summoned to Quidditch training after the weather cleared, while Hermione went to Hogsmeade. Elsewhere, Malcolm Sharma noticed the sudden change in weather and prepared to document it, suspecting that someone might be watching him.

• Fred and George told Ron that Angelina wanted to hold Quidditch training, so he hurriedly got dressed and left the dormitory with Harry and the others.
• Hermione met the group and decided to go to Hogsmeade, while Harry said Sirius Black had already prepared what he needed and Ron gave up on asking her to bring anything.
• At the Oak Door, Cadwallader guessed that Ron was headed to training, praised Gryffindor's dedication, and accepted Fred, George, and Ron's teasing challenge for their upcoming match.
• Malcolm Sharma noticed that the wind and snow had abruptly stopped, took out his camera, and prepared to record the clear weather.