Chapter Summaries

Sirius, Remus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discovered that Amosta Breen’s Muggle residence was concealed, possibly by the Fidelius Charm. They followed Mrs. Reagan through the hidden entrance to the orphanage.

• Sirius showed the group where he believed 178 Flank Street should be, but they found only a wall between two buildings.
• Remus suspected Amosta had hidden the orphanage with magic, and Sirius suggested he might have used the Fidelius Charm.
• Sirius spotted Mrs. Reagan outside the concealed entrance and asked Harry and Ron to help her carry rubbish.
• Remus asked Mrs. Reagan about Amosta, and Hermione introduced herself, Harry, and Ron as interns.
• Mrs. Reagan invited them inside and walked through the dividing wall, disappearing from view.

Harry, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, and Ron visited Hass Orphanage and discovered how Amosta Breen had used his resources to improve life for the children there. The chapter ended with them finding Amosta in the kitchen, wearing an apron and kneading dough.

• Mrs. Reagan tried to usher the visitors into the magically concealed orphanage, but they could not enter until Amosta sent them a note.
• Remus and the children focused on the note, revealing a hidden gate and the orphanage courtyard at 178 Flank Street.
• Mrs. Reagan led the visitors through the clean orphanage, where they saw the children and learned that Amosta had supported the institution.
• Sirius, Remus, Harry, Hermione, and Ron reconsidered Amosta's frugality after seeing the orphanage and its children.
• Mrs. Reagan led the visitors to the kitchen, where they found Amosta wearing a white apron and kneading dough.

Harry and his companions found Professor Breen working in an orphanage kitchen, where he made them help prepare dinner. The meal ended with Amosta revealing that he secretly provided the orphanage with financial support, while turning down offers to contribute.

• Amosta kneaded dough in the orphanage kitchen while a little girl played with his wand, and Mrs. Reagan brought Sirius, Remus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione to see him.
• Amosta told the group they could eat only if they helped with the cooking.
• Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Hermione struggled with kitchen tasks, while Harry proved skilled at washing, peeling, slicing, and cooking.
• Harry explained that he had learned to do chores while living with the Dursleys, leaving Remus and Sirius visibly troubled.
• Hermione asked whether Amosta cared for the orphanage children, and Amosta said he provided some financial support despite having little time to help.
• Remus, Sirius, and Harry offered to contribute money, but Amosta declined and served dinner to the children and staff.

Harry and the others shared dinner at Amosta’s orphanage, where they saw how warmly he cared for the children. The children questioned them about Amosta and his supposed work at Grunnings, then revealed their hope that he would be with Sister Vitia.

• Sirius and Remus praised the orphanage and Amosta as they watched him care for the children.
• A little girl gave Hermione a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Hammer Jr. introduced himself to the visitors.
• Harry claimed that he, Hermione, and Ron attended Highgate School and were interns at Grunnings.
• Remus told the curious children that the group had come to discuss important business with Mr. Breen.
• Hammer Jr. asked Hermione whether Amosta was seeing anyone, and she said she did not think so.
• The children sighed when Hammer Jr. said Amosta should be with Sister Vitia.

Sirius, Remus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited the orphanage where Amosta grew up and learned that the kind Vitia Hill the children remembered was likely Vitia Creona. Amosta refused to explain their connection, and the group ended the night discussing whether the orphanage’s children would be safe if Voldemort returned.

• Hammer Jr. told Hermione, Sirius, Remus, and Harry that Vitia Hill had been kind to the orphanage children and had dated Amosta.
• Remus and the others recognized the description of Vitia Creona, but Amosta stopped Hammer Jr. from saying more and threatened to inspect the children’s holiday homework.
• Amosta guessed that Sirius had found the orphanage through Ministry of Magic records, and Remus asked whether Vitia Creona and Vitia Hill were the same person.
• Amosta said he would explain the matter when the time was right, though the others doubted he intended to reveal the secret.
• Remus expanded the dormitory for the visitors, and later told Hermione they were discussing whether the orphanage children would be safe if Voldemort returned.

At the orphanage, Sirius and Remus worried that Voldemort might target the children connected to Amosta, while the Fidelius Charm and the need for secrecy made protecting them difficult. After Remus told Amosta what Harry, Ron, and Hermione had deduced about the Dark Mark and a possible Death Eater at Hogwarts, Amosta said everything was going according to plan.

• Sirius conjured a magical fire to warm Hermione, Harry, and Ron in the freezing dormitory.
• Sirius and Remus discussed how Voldemort might threaten the orphanage’s children and how the Fidelius Charm, secrecy laws, and limited Ministry manpower complicated their protection.
• Amosta entered the room, and Remus initially concealed their worries so as not to burden him.
• Remus told Amosta about the group’s discussion of the Dark Mark at the Quidditch final, Hermione becoming a champion, and their suspicion that a Death Eater had infiltrated Hogwarts.
• Amosta listened without showing surprise and told them that everything was within expectations and going according to plan.

Vitia Creona arrived at Voldemort’s hidden lair and was confronted with the monstrous Dark Lord and the suffering inside his cave. Voldemort welcomed her and revealed that Sparkle, a former Hogwarts House-elf, served him there.

• Vitia reached the secret cave entrance, where a gigantic venomous snake recognized her and let her pass.
• Vitia followed the snake’s tracks through the dangerous cave and hesitated before entering the room beyond the stone door.
• Voldemort greeted Vitia and invited her into his lair while Sparkle trembled beside his chair.
• Vitia entered and saw Voldemort’s burned, distorted body, feeling disgust at the dark magic surrounding him.
• Voldemort ordered Sparkle to prepare tea for Vitia and said the House-elf had worked at Hogwarts before coming to serve him.

Vitia visited Voldemort, who explained that his injuries from Amosta Breen’s Fiendfyre remained unstable and promised she would soon return to Hogwarts without a disguise. After summoning Barty Crouch Jr., Voldemort called Vitia and Barty family and invited them to a belated holiday dinner.

• Voldemort welcomed Vitia to dinner and showed her the ulcer on his arm, which had burst open before he healed it with a spell.
• Voldemort blamed the wound’s unstable magic on Breen’s Fiendfyre Curse, and Vitia apologized for the circumstances that had led to his injury.
• Voldemort said Vitia would soon return to Hogwarts without a disguise, while Sparkle served dinner and trembled with fear.
• Voldemort sent Sparkle to fetch his loyal servant, and Barty Crouch Jr. emerged from the next room with blood on his clothes and wand.
• Barty Crouch Jr. threatened Vitia, but Voldemort told him to show her respect and declared that she was family.
• Voldemort invited Vitia and Barty Crouch Jr. to share a belated holiday dinner with him.

Voldemort forced Barty Crouch Jr. to bring his tortured father, Old Barty, to dinner and tormented him while Vitia watched. When Vitia intervened, she made a vine grow from the table and sent it toward Old Barty.

• Voldemort ordered Barty Crouch Jr. to invite his father to the feast, despite Barty's protests.
• Barty Crouch Jr. dragged the mangled and barely living Old Barty to the dining table.
• Voldemort demanded that Old Barty dine and used magic to force boiling mushroom soup into his mouth and nostrils.
• Vitia rose and made a thick vine grow from the wooden table.
• The vine shot toward Old Barty as Barty Crouch Jr. aimed his wand at Vitia and Voldemort watched.

Vitia stopped Voldemort from killing Old Barty Crouch, then maintained her cover and alliance with Voldemort. After leaving the family dinner, she wondered how events would unfold and thought of Amosta Breen.

• Voldemort destroyed Vitia's conjured vine with a Killing Curse before it could kill Old Barty Crouch.
• Vitia explained that Old Barty had disgusted her and ruined her appetite, while Voldemort revealed her identity and her work at Hogwarts to him.
• Old Barty regained enough strength to face Voldemort defiantly, but Voldemort ordered Barty Crouch Jr. to take him away for further punishment.
• Voldemort asked whether the Hogwarts plan was proceeding smoothly, and Vitia reminded him that they had formed an alliance under the Twin Serpent Wand.
• Vitia left the cave, thought of Amosta Breen, and wondered where everything would go from there.

Amosta returned to Hogwarts after spending Christmas at the orphanage and agreed to travel to the United States with Remus to address problems facing the alchemy workshop. Back at school, he was reprimanded by McGonagall for arriving late and was urged to submit his physical education course for official review.

• Amosta agreed to accompany Remus to the United States and look into MACUSA's scrutiny of the alchemy workshop.
• Amosta stayed at the orphanage until the children returned to school, then left quietly and traveled back to Hogwarts after term had begun.
• Amosta arrived at Hogwarts at midnight and found McGonagall reprimanding two Hufflepuff students for throwing Dungbombs in the corridors.
• McGonagall scolded Amosta for missing the first week of term without explaining his absence, then gave him documents and invited him to a Hogsmeade gathering.
• McGonagall advised Amosta to prepare materials for his physical education class and submit them to the Board of Governors and Ministry of Magic for review.

Amosta planned to make physical education a permanent Hogwarts elective and told the first cohort their training would end at the close of the semester. He reassured them that they would keep practicing and introduced the fifth stage, which would teach them how to escape unfavorable situations.

• Amosta sorted the letters piled up during his absence and considered how to establish physical education as a three-year elective for students from their third year onward.
• Amosta told the students their current training would end at the close of the semester, leaving them confused and upset.
• Amosta reassured the students that they should continue running drills, return for regular agility training, and take part in dueling assessments.
• Draco recalled that his training had let him hold his own against Lucius in a practice duel, impressing Narcissa.
• Amosta explained that the fifth stage would teach the students how to escape unfavorable circumstances.

Professor Breen taught the students about Apparition, Portkeys, and fireplaces as ways to escape danger, including their limitations and legal restrictions. He demonstrated how to conjure a fireplace, then refused Draco's request to teach them how to make Portkeys or secretly use fireplaces.

• Amosta asked the students to compare ways of escaping, and Draco named Apparition, Portkeys, and fireplaces while Hermione argued that fireplaces and Portkeys could be impractical because of legal requirements.
• Amosta asked whether survival mattered more than obeying the law and described how Apparition could be blocked by an Anti-Apparition Charm.
• Amosta explained that Portkeys could bypass Anti-Apparition Charms but required authorization, and that fireplaces needed access to the Floo Network to be useful.
• Amosta conjured a fireplace in the classroom and explained how a previously prepared fireplace might be used to smuggle someone through the Floo Network.
• Draco asked Amosta to teach the students how to make Portkeys and prepare fireplaces for smuggling, but Amosta refused because it was against the law.

Professor Breen taught students how to use simple tricks to escape dangerous encounters and introduced a new group exercise in his mindscape. He explained the rules of the challenge but had not yet begun the demonstration.

• Amosta showed the students an unripe Finnish Fragrant Ridge Fruit and a poison that released toxic gas, explaining how such tools could create a chance to escape.
• Amosta reminded the students that a strong foundation in Hogwarts subjects mattered and said he would share more tricks without teaching them how to make the tools.
• Amosta transported the students to a vivid rocky landscape in his mindscape, where they gathered and marvelled at how real it felt.
• Amosta announced a new exercise in which three groups would try to stop a challenged group from escaping a large smoke ring, then asked for a volunteer to demonstrate.

Amosta's escape-training lesson exposed the students' poor tactics, and Draco used the assignment to obtain permission to visit the Restricted Section. Harry and the others suspected Draco wanted to learn ways to escape Ministry surveillance, while Ron's awkwardness around Hermione left Harry feeling unsettled.

• Amosta saw the students fail at both escaping encirclement and coordinating an attack, then assigned them a twelve-inch essay on encirclement tactics.
• Draco asked Amosta for a Restricted Section permission slip, and Amosta granted it while Hermione suspected Draco wanted to research Portkeys or hidden fireplace connections.
• Hermione told the Gryffindors that Draco was likely seeking ways to travel secretly, and George and Lee Jordan guessed that Amosta had anticipated the request.
• Harry considered sneaking into the Restricted Section himself but worried that another breach of Ministry rules could have serious consequences.
• At lunch, Ron left Lavender to join Harry and the others, while Hermione focused on Sirius's travel journal and Harry wondered why he kept watching her reactions.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Hogwarts after the holiday, while Hermione worried over the coming underwater task and questioned the purpose of Professor Breen’s dueling lessons. She concluded that his team exercises might be preparing students to wage war.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid and Dom, but Hagrid blushed and refused to explain how he had spent his holiday.
• Hermione hinted that she had a new plan concerning house-elves but would not tell Harry and Ron what it was.
• Harry ran Quidditch drills with Ron and later described his physical education class in the common room.
• Hermione, anxious about the underwater task, told Harry and Ron she suspected Professor Breen’s team-based training was not merely teaching self-defense.
• Hermione suggested that Professor Breen might be training them how to wage war.

Hermione proposed sending clothes and Muggle donations to Professor Breen’s orphanage, prompting Harry and Ron to gather donations of their own. On the first Hogsmeade weekend, Amosta spotted the trio hiding a parcel at The Three Broomsticks and wondered what trouble they had caused.

• Hermione speculated that Professor Breen might be preparing students to fight Voldemort, but Ron argued that sending Hogwarts students to battle was impossible.
• Hermione explained that her parents would donate money through Muggle channels and that she would send her old clothes to the orphanage.
• Harry and Ron hurried to collect clothes to donate, with Ron planning to ask his mother for hand-me-downs from his brothers.
• Amosta and the other professors walked through the slushy road into Hogsmeade as the students gathered for the first weekend of term.
• At The Three Broomsticks, Amosta saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron hide a parcel and followed Professor McGonagall into a private room.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron carried packages toward Hogsmeade, where they ran into Cedric and Cho Chang on their way to a date. Harry’s jealousy over Cho and Cedric’s closeness left him heartbroken as the group reached the village.

• Hermione, Harry, and Ron set out early for Hogsmeade carrying packages for the children at the orphanage.
• Hermione, Harry, and Ron spotted Cedric and Cho Chang walking together, and Harry hurried ahead to avoid them.
• Cedric caught up with the group, offered to help carry Hermione’s package, and Harry coldly refused.
• Hermione learned that Cedric and Cho planned to visit Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, a place for couples to go on dates.
• Cedric and Cho headed off together in Hogsmeade, Harry watched Cho turn away, and he strode toward Honeydukes while Hermione followed with Ron.

Harry struggled with his feelings after seeing Cedric with Cho Chang, while Hermione revealed Harry’s secret crush to Ron. At the Three Broomsticks, Hermione opened a package of cakes containing an enchanted pink rose, and she reached to touch it.

• Harry spent thirty Gold Galleons on sweets at Honeydukes to vent his frustration after seeing Cedric with Cho Chang.
• Hermione told Ron that Harry had liked Cho since third year, and Ron reacted with shock before remembering Ginny’s feelings for Harry.
• Hermione paid to send their package at the post office and sorted through the fan letters she had received.
• Harry left the Three Broomsticks for the library, while Hermione and Ron opened her package of handmade cakes.
• Hermione stopped Ron from touching an enchanted pink rose in the gift box, then reached for it herself with a delighted smile.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron left The Three Broomsticks after a magical rose given to Hermione crumbled into ash. On the road through Hogsmeade, Hermione suddenly appeared corpse-like and unleashed a devastating burst of dark magic before collapsing.

• Hermione admired the enchanted rose, but it turned to ash; Harry suggested its magic had simply worn off.
• Hermione, Harry, and Ron left the inn to go to the library and then the physical education classroom.
• As Harry and Ron supported Hermione on the road, they felt her arm turn ice-cold and saw her become corpse-like.
• A powerful burst of dark magic erupted from Hermione, flinging Harry, Ron, and nearby pedestrians backward and shattering shop windows.
• Hermione fell onto the street, convulsing as black smoke billowed from her body, and thought that she did not want to die.