Chapter Summaries

Jon arrived for his third detention with Dumbledore but found the Headmaster away, so he explored the office and browsed its hidden bookcase. He opened a book on advanced Dark Arts and discovered a chapter about creating and using Horcruxes.

• Jon reached Dumbledore's office and learned from Delis Derwent that Dumbledore had gone to Kampala for a meeting.
• Delis Derwent invited Jon to stay, and Phineas Black told him that books were hidden in the bookcase beneath Fawkes.
• Jon browsed the bookcase and found a volume titled Secrets of the Advanced Dark Arts.
• Jon skimmed the book's contents and found a chapter on methods of creating Horcruxes and tips for their use.

Jon prepared to compete in the Triwizard Tournament’s First Task and learned he had drawn the Ukrainian Ironbelly, the most dangerous dragon. After Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum completed their turns and Harry Potter entered the arena, Jon was left alone in the champions’ tent, readying himself for his challenge.

• Professor Trelawney predicted that a student would end up in the Hospital Wing that afternoon.
• Professor Sprout escorted Jon from the Hufflepuff common room to the champions’ tent, where Jon reminded Zacharias to bring something to the arena.
• Ludo Bagman explained that the champions had to retrieve the Golden Egg guarded by their dragons or surrender, then had each champion draw a dragon model.
• Fleur Delacour drew a Swedish Short-Snout, Viktor Krum drew a Chinese Fireball, Harry Potter drew a Hungarian Horntail, and Jon drew a Ukrainian Ironbelly.
• Fleur and Viktor competed, with Viktor retrieving the Golden Egg, before Harry left the tent and Jon prepared to face the Ironbelly.

Jon Hart faced the Ukrainian Ironbelly in the Triwizard Tournament’s dragon challenge and used advanced Transfiguration to send a hedgehog toward it. As the dragon turned its attention to the animal, something flew in from outside the field.

• Ludo Bagman announced the Ukrainian Ironbelly, whose size and ferocity alarmed students and professors watching from the stands.
• Cedric Diggory reassured Zacharias Smith and urged him to trust Jon, while students from Ravenclaw and Slytherin reacted to Jon’s challenge.
• Jon entered the arena and confronted the Ironbelly as it guarded its eggs.
• Jon transformed a stone into a hedgehog and sent it running toward the dragon.
• Bagman praised Jon’s Transfiguration, then noticed something flying in from outside the field and called out another Accio.

Jon Hart used Devil’s Snare and the Eye Blight Curse to slow the Ukrainian Ironbelly, but the dragon broke free and struck him with a boulder. As Jon lay on the ground, Professor Flitwick moved to intervene, but Dumbledore stopped him and urged him to wait.

• Jon summoned a backpack of herb packs and enraged the Ukrainian Ironbelly with a spell.
• Jon scattered Devil’s Snare seeds around the dragon’s legs, and the vines temporarily trapped it.
• The Ironbelly tore through the Devil’s Snare, and Jon blinded its eyes with repeated Eye Blight Curses.
• The dragon swung its tail and sent a boulder crashing into Jon despite his Protego.
• Professor Flitwick tried to intervene, but Dumbledore held him back and told him to wait.

Jon won the First Task by using Ghost Vine mixed with Devil’s Snare to paralyze the Ukrainian Ironbelly, though he suffered broken bones and was taken to the Hospital Wing. Astoria visited him, apologized, and kissed his cheek before leaving.

• Jon recovered from the rubble, reached the dragon’s nest, and raised the Golden Egg as the Ukrainian Ironbelly collapsed in pain.
• Dumbledore explained that Ghost Vine thorns mixed with Devil’s Snare had paralyzed the dragon.
• Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout carried Jon to the Hospital Wing, where Pomfrey treated his injuries and ordered him to rest overnight.
• Hufflepuff students, including Zacharias Smith, Hannah Abbott, and Cedric Diggory, praised Jon before Madam Pomfrey sent them away.
• Astoria visited Jon, apologized for how he had learned about the task, and kissed his cheek before running out.

While recovering in the Hospital Wing after the First Task, Jon was visited at midnight by Natalie, who admitted she had sneaked in to see him. The next morning, Jon returned to the Hufflepuff common room, where his classmates celebrated his performance and Zacharias prepared to tell him his score.

• Jon dreamed that the Second Task transformed him into a creature like the merpeople before he woke to find a little hand beside him.
• Jon discovered Natalie in the Hospital Wing, and she explained that she had come to check on him and bring him a Get-Well Card.
• Jon warned Natalie not to wander around the school at night because it was dangerous, and she left after telling him she had argued with her classmates about Harry Potter.
• Madam Pomfrey examined Jon the next morning and recommended that he stay for observation, but he declined and returned to the Hufflepuff common room.
• Zacharias and the other Hufflepuffs welcomed Jon by tossing him into the air, and Zacharias pulled out the parchment with Jon's First Task score.

After earning thirty-eight points for the First Task, Jon celebrated with Hufflepuff and settled back into school life. Dumbledore then invited him to view a precious memory he had obtained at Nurmengard Castle.

• Zacharias Smith read out the judges’ scores, placing Jon third behind Viktor Krum and Harry Potter, who tied for first.
• Hufflepuff students threw Jon a belated celebration in the common room.
• Jon recovered from facing the Ukrainian Ironbelly, impressed his teachers, and discovered that the Golden Egg contained the merpeople’s song.
• The Hogwarts headmasters’ portraits applauded Jon, though Dexter Fosco mistakenly credited Harry Potter with Jon’s dragon feat.
• Dumbledore showed Jon a Crystal Vial containing a memory he had obtained from Nurmengard Castle.

Jon entered Dumbledore’s Pensieve and witnessed Gellert Grindelwald’s student days at Durmstrang, where the school’s hidden underwater location and its Bathing Ritual were revealed. The memory ended with Grindelwald leading the students to a wall marked with a triangle, circle, and vertical line.

• Dumbledore told Jon that Nurmengard Castle held Gellert Grindelwald and that they had once been close friends, then took Jon into the Pensieve.
• Dumbledore showed Jon Durmstrang’s annual Bathing Ritual, where students entered Lake Venaen without clothes or Wands and fought underwater for the title of Freyr or Freya.
• Jon recognized the young student crowned with a wreath as Gellert Grindelwald, who led the Durmstrang students across the frozen lake.
• Dumbledore revealed that Durmstrang’s campus lay beneath Lake Venaen, and he and Jon followed the students into its underwater castle.
• Grindelwald led the students to a wall bearing an interlocked triangle, circle, and vertical line, then addressed them as his brothers and sisters.

Jon watched Grindelwald address Durmstrang’s students, warning that Muggles would threaten wizardkind and magical creatures before calling for wizards to unite and act first. The crowd embraced Grindelwald’s slogan, and Dumbledore quietly told Jon they should leave.

• Dumbledore explained to Jon how Durmstrang students communicated, while Grindelwald was acclaimed as their Freyr.
• Grindelwald predicted that Muggles would discover wizards and magical creatures, drive them from their homes, and make magical materials scarce.
• Grindelwald showed images of Muggles attacking a dragon and hunting Unicorns, then argued that Muggles should be controlled and serve wizards.
• Grindelwald showed images of environmental destruction and urged the wizards to unite and strike first for the greater good.
• Durmstrang’s listeners shouted Grindelwald’s slogan, and Dumbledore told Jon they should leave.

After visiting Dumbledore’s Pensieve, Jon left the headmaster’s office and returned to the Hufflepuff common room, where he encountered Moody and Snape investigating the school’s nighttime dangers. He ended the night safely in bed, while a portrait discussion revealed that Hogwarts’s former headmasters expected Delis Derwent to obey Dumbledore’s orders.

• In Dumbledore’s office, Delis Derwent argued that Jon deserved to know the truth, but Oliver Cromwell and the other portraits insisted she must obey Albus’s orders.
• Jon returned from the Pensieve, said goodbye to Fawkes, and left Dumbledore’s office for the Hufflepuff common room.
• On the third floor, Jon encountered Alastor Moody and said he had just returned from detention with Dumbledore; Moody warned him that the school might be unsafe at night.
• Near the Dungeon, Snape told Jon that powdered Unicorn horn and African Tree Snake skin had been stolen from his office, suggesting someone was brewing Polyjuice Potion.
• Jon suggested Moody might know something, then returned to the Hufflepuff common room and went to bed.

Jon collected Ashwinder Eggs for Snape and learned that Potion Sequences followed patterns organized into families and periods. Snape gave him a chart to study and told him to return it during the next Potions class.

• In Divination class, Zacharias Smith examined Jon’s palm and found two fate lines, while Trelawney frightened Colin Cleever with a prediction about his short life line.
• Jon collected Ashwinder Eggs for Snape, enduring several burns before freezing the eggs and sealing them in jars.
• Snape told Jon that their stock of potion ingredients was sufficient for a year or two, so Jon no longer needed to help gather them.
• Snape showed Jon a chart of the 118 known Potion Sequences, explaining that they belonged to eighteen families and several periods.
• Snape gave Jon the chart to memorize and ordered him to return it during the next Potions class.

Professor Sprout told the Hufflepuffs about the Christmas ball and informed Jon that, as a Triwizard champion, he had to attend with a partner. Jon tried to avoid going, but Sprout decided the school would arrange a dance partner for him.

• Professor Sprout announced that the Christmas ball was for fourth-years and above, though older students could invite younger ones.
• Professor Sprout told Jon that champions had to attend the ball with partners and open it with a dance.
• Jon said he planned to go home for Christmas and admitted he could not dance, but Sprout insisted he learn.
• Jon pointed out that he was a third-year and lacked formal robes, but Sprout dismissed both as solvable problems.
• Professor Sprout decided to tell Dumbledore that the school should arrange a dance partner for Jon.

Jon turned down invitations to the Christmas ball, believing Professor Dumbledore had already chosen his partner, while wondering whether Astoria had been invited. After Ron fled from an awkward invitation to Fleur Delacour, Fleur asked Jon to be her partner, but he declined and was left facing her question about whether he was related to Dumbledore.

• Elia Dexston and more than ten older girls invited Jon to the ball, and he turned them all down, citing Professor Dumbledore's arrangement.
• Zacharias envied Jon's prospects, while Jon worried that Dumbledore might have paired him with a tomboy.
• During their last Potions class before the holiday, Jon asked Astoria whether anyone had invited her, and she blushed and nodded.
• In the entrance hall, Ron Weasley nervously invited Fleur Delacour to the ball, then fled before she could answer.
• Fleur asked Jon to be her dance partner, but Jon declined because Dumbledore had already arranged one for him.
• Fleur asked Jon whether he was related to Professor Dumbledore.

Jon spent Christmas morning opening presents, including dangerous potion ingredients, books, sweets, and formal robes, then prepared for the Yule Ball. The chapter left him on his way to Professor McGonagall’s office to meet his still-unknown dance partner.

• Jon received Professor Sprout’s old-fashioned gray dress robes and rejected them as his outfit for the evening.
• Jon opened presents from Eric and Judy, Zacharias Smith, Professor Snape, and an unknown giver, including a phone, a Quidditch book, an Ashwinder Egg, candy, Secrets of the Advanced Dark Arts, and black tailcoat robes.
• Jon decided to wear the black tailcoat robes to the banquet.
• Jon joined the Hufflepuff students as they gathered in formal clothes for the Yule Ball.
• Professor Sprout told Jon that his dance partner was waiting in Professor McGonagall’s office, and Jon headed there.

Jon waited in Professor McGonagall's office for the dance partner Professor Dumbledore had chosen for him while the other students arrived for the Yule Ball. His partner finally appeared in a white dress, leaving Jon stunned as he told her she looked beautiful.

• Jon found Cedric Diggory waiting for Fleur Delacour, then saw Harry Potter arrive with Cho Chang.
• Jon greeted Hermione Granger and complimented her appearance before she left with Viktor Krum.
• Jon waited alone, tossed an ashtray into the air, and accidentally revealed it was a Transfigured magpie.
• Professor Minerva McGonagall told Jon his dance partner would arrive soon and that the Champions and their partners would enter the ball first.
• A girl in a white dress arrived late, and Jon recognized her beauty as he told her she looked beautiful today.

Jon and Astoria attended the Christmas banquet together as Champion partners, sharing a nervous but happy entrance and dinner at the High Table. The chapter ended with Astoria feeding Jon an oyster, which he eagerly praised.

• Astoria told Jon that Dumbledore had arranged for her to be his dance partner and had kept it secret as a surprise.
• Jon and Astoria entered the Great Hall with the other Champions and their partners, where the decorated hall and assembled guests drew their attention.
• The Champions, their partners, and the Judges sat at the High Table and ordered food from menus that made dishes appear on their plates.
• Percy Weasley explained Barty Crouch's poor condition to Dumbledore and blamed Winky for the Ministry's troubles after the World Cup.
• Jon watched the conversations around the table as Hermione spoke with Viktor Krum and Harry fussed over Cho Chang.
• Astoria fed Jon a freshly shelled oyster, and he told her it was delicious.

At Hogwarts’ Christmas ball, Jon danced with Astoria Greengrass while she taught him the waltz. After they took a break, Astoria declined Draco Malfoy’s invitation and agreed to go for a walk with Jon, while Daphne left the ballroom alone.

• Dumbledore cleared the hall and announced the start of the Christmas ball as The Weird Sisters took the stage.
• Jon and Astoria joined the Champions on the dance floor, where Astoria quietly taught Jon how to waltz.
• Jon and Astoria rested at Daphne’s table after dancing, and Jon fetched Butterbeer for the sisters.
• Astoria told Jon that she had turned down Draco Malfoy’s invitation to dance and suggested they continue dancing.
• Jon suggested a walk outside, and Daphne left for the Slytherin common room while Jon and Astoria prepared to go.

Jon and Astoria left the Yule Ball for the Rose Garden, where they spoke about her handmade tailcoat and grew closer. The chapter ended as they leaned in to kiss.

• Jon and Astoria left the ballroom after seeing the other couples arguing or struggling through the evening.
• Jon and Astoria passed Ludo Bagman and Percy Weasley discussing Barty Crouch's illness and then went out into the Rose Garden.
• Alastor Moody warned Jon and Astoria that Dark wizards might exploit the celebration to attack Hogwarts, then went to check the Forbidden Forest.
• Jon and Astoria sat together in the garden, and Astoria admitted she had made his tailcoat as a gift with some help from her sister.
• Jon apologized after Astoria revealed she had planned to give him the coat in Hogsmeade, and they drew close to kiss.

Jon savored his Christmas dance with Astoria, then gave Harry a hint about the Golden Egg’s secret. Back in his dormitory, Jon opened the birthday gift Secrets of the Advanced Dark Arts.

• Jon successfully cast Expecto Patronum and put away the tailcoat he had worn to the Christmas ball.
• Zacharias teased Jon about dancing with Astoria all night, and Jon left the Hufflepuff common room.
• Jon overheard Ron and Hermione argue about Hagrid being a Half-Giant, then told Harry to put the Golden Egg in water.
• Astoria shyly greeted Jon at breakfast before sitting with Daphne at the Slytherin table.
• Jon locked himself in his dormitory and opened Secrets of the Advanced Dark Arts.

Jon studied Horcruxes in Secrets of the Advanced Dark Arts and found that the book did not explain how to split a soul. On the final day of the holiday, he learned that Rita Skeeter had published an article exposing Hagrid as a Half-Giant, prompting fear and arguments among the Hufflepuffs.

• Jon spent the holiday studying the Potion Sequence Table and preparing Veritaserum while reading Secrets of the Advanced Dark Arts.
• Jon learned how Horcruxes were created and what their destruction did, but could not find the spell for splitting a soul.
• Ernie Macmillan showed Jon Rita Skeeter’s Daily Prophet article portraying Hagrid as a dangerous Half-Giant and Dumbledore as a conspirator.
• Ernie condemned Hagrid, while a second-year girl defended him by recalling how he had rescued her; Jon stayed out of the argument and trusted Dumbledore would stand by Hagrid.