Chapter Summaries

Hermione was struck by a deadly force that burned through her body, but she used an unfamiliar method to control her magic and resist it. Her outburst brought Professor Breen and Professor Moody to her side, and they began stabilizing her while she remained near death.

• Hermione realized that the rose's glow had unleashed a deadly poison or curse, and she tried to endure it long enough for Professor Breen and Professor Moody to reach her.
• Hermione recalled a method for controlling magical flow and focused her mind, seeing the dark force consuming her magic and directing her remaining magic against it.
• Hermione's magic erupted in a storm that blasted Harry and Ron backward, then she fell onto the wet paving stones as black smoke rose from her convulsing body.
• Professor Breen burst out of Three Broomsticks and sealed both Hermione's remaining magic and the force consuming her life.
• Professor Moody gave Hermione an emerald-green potion to replenish her life force so she could survive the treatment ahead.

Hermione survived a poisoning and curse attack after Amosta reached her and carried her to Hogwarts for treatment. Dumbledore and Snape began examining her condition, but the curse remained bound to the poison and had to be resolved quickly.

• Moody poured a restorative potion into Hermione while Amosta ordered all students in Hogsmeade to return to Hogwarts.
• Amosta carried Hermione to the castle, where Dumbledore, Snape, and Fawkes were waiting.
• Dumbledore transformed a sofa into a hospital bed, and Fawkes shed tears onto Hermione's lips.
• Snape found no poison in the cookies and said the poison inside Hermione would persist until the curse was removed.
• Snape asked for Fawkes's tears so he could brew potions to suppress the poison and help Hermione regain consciousness.

Amosta and Dumbledore purged the toxin and apparent curse from Hermione, but the curse reappeared, revealing that its seed was separate and leaving them determined to find the caster. After McGonagall and Harry arrived, Amosta asked Harry to explain what had happened.

• Dumbledore used ancient magic while Amosta lifted his suppression, cleansing Hermione’s body of the toxin and dispersing the curse around her forearm.
• The curse returned several times stronger despite the apparent absence of a curse seed, so Dumbledore and Amosta stopped the attempt and sealed Hermione’s magic.
• Amosta reasoned that the curse seed was separate from the curse itself, and he and Dumbledore concluded that they needed to find the caster.
• Professor McGonagall arrived with Harry and said that Alastor had examined Ron and Poppy was treating him.
• Amosta asked Harry to tell them everything he knew about what had happened.

After Hermione was attacked by a package sent through the Hogsmeade post office, the Ministry officials arrived to assess the incident and manage the political fallout. Amosta and Dumbledore challenged the Ministry’s attempt to evade responsibility, leaving Umbridge exposed because the post office fell under her department’s oversight.

• Fudge, Umbridge, and Amelia arrived at Dumbledore’s office and found Hermione alive but unconscious.
• Fudge celebrated Hermione’s survival, while Amosta and Dumbledore greeted him coldly.
• Amelia asked Amosta what had happened, and he explained that Hermione had been attacked by a package from the post office.
• Umbridge suggested Hermione might have offended a powerful dark wizard, but Dumbledore asked who oversaw the Department of Magical Transportation.
• Amosta pointed out that the post office fell under Umbridge’s department and said it bore responsibility for failing to inspect the package.

After Hermione was nearly killed by an enchanted rose, Harry told Dumbledore, Professor Breen, and Professor McGonagall what had happened. Amosta arranged stricter inspections of all deliveries to Hogwarts, and the chapter ended with the Ministry preparing to arrive as he vowed to pursue the matter.

• Harry watched Hermione unconscious in Dumbledore's office and struggled with fear and anger over the attack.
• Harry recounted how he, Hermione, and Ron had collected her letters and package before she opened them at The Three Broomsticks Inn.
• Amosta ordered Filch to collect and inspect all items and letters sent to Hogwarts before delivering them to students or staff.
• McGonagall took Harry to the Hospital Wing for an examination, where Ron was also waiting.
• Dumbledore received word that Cornelius, Umbridge, and Amelia would arrive through the Floo Network, and Amosta vowed the matter would not end easily.

After Hermione was attacked through a cursed package, Amosta pressured the Ministry to strengthen public safety and agreed to have her treated at St. Mungo's. As Madame Maxime and Karkaroff arrived at Hogwarts, Amosta prepared to investigate the attack and wondered whether its perpetrator feared retaliation.

• Amosta challenged the Ministry over its failure to inspect dangerous packages, and Fudge backed Amelia's proposal to expand the Hit Wizard force.
• Severus gave Hermione a potion that suppressed the curse, and he warned that she would likely remain unconscious for a day or two.
• Amelia proposed transferring Hermione to St. Mungo's and suggested an extreme fan of another Triwizard champion might be responsible; Amosta said an investigation was needed.
• Fudge, Umbridge, and Amelia left Hogwarts, while Umbridge silently blamed Amosta for her losses and planned to retaliate.
• Dumbledore used Fawkes to take Hermione to St. Mungo's, and Amosta watched Madame Maxime and Karkaroff arrive at Hogwarts as Severus urged him to stay calm.

After Hermione was attacked and several students were injured, Harry struggled to contain his rage while the professors treated the victims and investigated. Hermione was sent to St Mungo’s under Auror protection, and Amosta left to investigate as Harry remained in the Hospital Wing, worried and furious.

• Professor McGonagall brought Harry to the crowded Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey examined him and found no serious injuries.
• Harry saw Ron unconscious with his head bandaged and learned that many students and two Hogsmeade villagers had been hurt in the blast.
• Professor McGonagall told the other professors that Hermione’s injuries had been brought under control, though they feared the situation was serious.
• Snape told the professors that Dumbledore had sent Hermione to St Mungo’s and that Ministry Aurors would protect her.
• Snape reported that Amosta had left Hogwarts to investigate the attack, while Harry listened from his bed and clenched his fist beneath the blankets.

Jasna visited Escuros in a hidden London room to ask whether he had sent the dangerous gift intended for Hermione Granger. Escuros revealed that he had delayed its delivery until Hogwarts returned to term, then hinted that he planned another surprise before leaving.

• Jasna arrived at Escuros's hideout in a maze of alleys on Nancy Street and found him beside a rigid, ashen-skinned Muggle.
• Jasna questioned Escuros about the assignment from Mr. Raman and warned that the Ministry of Magic, Albus Dumbledore, and Amosta Breen might investigate.
• Escuros said Hermione Granger would not receive the gift for at least a week because he had arranged for it to be sent after term began.
• Jasna urged Escuros to leave before the British Ministry of Magic sealed the borders and shut down their smuggling route.
• Escuros thanked Jasna for the warning and hinted that he would leave another surprise behind.

Escuros and Jasna erased their traces after leaving a Muggle as a diversion, then toasted their freedom and Apparated away. Amosta, disguised as Golden Viper, visited Knockturn Alley’s underground market and confronted Verolence about the junk on his stall.

• Escuros enchanted a Muggle to climb into bed, then released purple smoke to remove evidence from the house.
• Escuros and Jasna left the refugee district after raising a toast to freedom.
• Amosta returned to Knockturn Alley in his Golden Viper disguise and headed for the underground marketplace.
• Golden Viper met Verolence at his stall and asked why he was selling trash.

Golden Viper visited Verolence’s shop, bought a treated Vampire fang, and rejected the shopkeeper’s other cursed artifacts. He then asked Verolence whether he had encountered a curse whose seed had been separated from the curse itself.

• Golden Viper mocked Verolence’s wares, inspected the Vampire fang, and bought it for forty Gold Galleons.
• Golden Viper asked Verolence to show him more potent cursed items and followed him into a concealed space behind the stall.
• Golden Viper criticized Verolence’s collection of taboo artifacts and complained that they were wasting his time.
• Golden Viper asked Verolence whether he had ever seen a curse with its seed separated from the curse itself.

Mr. Golden Viper asked Verolence how curses could be made impossible to remove, hoping to learn how to deal with a curse afflicting his friend. Verolence explained the method and sold him a list of the few masters who could use it.

• Mr. Golden Viper paid Verolence to explain how curse seeds could be separated from curses.
• Verolence described curses that replicated through life energy and curses whose seeds were hidden in separate objects.
• Mr. Golden Viper realized that the curse on his friend might require finding and destroying the original object that housed its seed.
• Verolence said only a few true masters knew the method and demanded two hundred Galleons per name for their information.
• Mr. Golden Viper paid fourteen hundred Galleons for Verolence's list and warned him he would return if it was inaccurate.

Amosta learned from Kingsley that Hermione’s anonymous package had been sent from the Leaky Cauldron, where Ministry officials had gathered to investigate. He Apparated into the pub and faced the assembled Aurors, who drew their wands at his arrival.

• Amosta decided to investigate the suspects in France and Germany first while reflecting on the unexpected dangers facing the wizarding world.
• Kingsley’s Patronus told Amosta that the package sent to Hermione had originated at the Leaky Cauldron.
• Amosta Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, where Kingsley and more than twenty Ministry officials were investigating the source of the package.
• A guest came downstairs, saw the stern officials, and hurried back to his room as Kingsley told Tom the investigation would be brief.
• Amosta Apparated into the pub’s back courtyard, and the assembled Aurors drew their wands and watched him warily.

Amosta Breen and Kingsley questioned Old Tom after tracing the dangerous package that injured Hermione Granger and others to his bar. Old Tom identified the sender as a scruffy man wearing Muggle clothes and sunglasses, but the man had left no name or address.

• Amosta arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and learned that Sirius and Tonks had been sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
• Kingsley explained that the Ministry had traced a dangerous package to the bar, and Amosta asked Old Tom about the packages he handled.
• Amosta told Old Tom that a Dark Magic item hidden in a package had endangered a Hogwarts student and injured several people in Hogsmeade.
• Old Tom angrily cursed the person responsible, then recognized the package as one intended for Miss Hermione Granger.
• Old Tom recalled that a scruffy man in Muggle clothes and sunglasses had paid him two Galleons to mail Hermione a gift after term began, and had told him to throw it away if it was returned.

Amosta used Tom’s memory to reveal the disguised, apparently controlled man who had delivered the cursed package, and concluded that the man might already be dead. He directed the Aurors to search the memories of Muggle shopkeepers near The Leaky Cauldron, leaving them to begin tracing the courier.

• Kingsley questioned Tom about sending the package, and Amosta concluded that the sender had acted cautiously to keep Hermione from receiving the rose sooner.
• Amosta extracted Tom’s memory and showed the Aurors a disguised young man delivering the package to The Leaky Cauldron.
• Kingsley and the Aurors noticed the man’s stiff, clumsy walk and suspected he had been controlled.
• Amosta said the courier was probably dead, and the Aurors realized they needed to find him despite having little information.
• Amosta proposed searching the memories of Muggle shopkeepers near The Leaky Cauldron, offering to seek authorization from Amelia or Fudge if needed.

Amosta Breen and Kingsley directed an investigation into the attack on Hermione, tracking the package sender and searching for wizards capable of crafting the unusual curse. The search reached a breakthrough when an Auror arrived at The Leaky Cauldron with news that they had found the sender.

• Amosta questioned Kingsley about what the culprit would do after the crime, and Kingsley ordered Aurors to investigate both official and smuggled routes out of Britain.
• Amosta gave Kingsley a list of European wizards capable of creating Hermione’s unusual curse, and Kingsley assigned elite Aurors to investigate them.
• Amosta and Kingsley spent the day directing the investigation from The Leaky Cauldron as reports came in.
• An Auror arrived at the tavern and announced to Amosta that they had found the package sender.

Amosta Breen and Kingsley led the Aurors to a house in Cokeworth, where they discovered an Inferius instead of a living suspect. The Inferius transformed and exploded, but Amosta contained the blast while answering a ringing telephone.

• Amosta told Kingsley that Cokeworth was where Severus Snape had lived and recalled visiting him during his Hogwarts years.
• Agnisa reported that the Muggles’ memories revealed no suspicious people near the target.
• Amosta stopped the Aurors from entering and revealed that the house contained an Inferius rather than any living person.
• Amosta unfolded the house’s walls, exposing the Inferius and a ringing telephone beside the bed.
• The Inferius transformed into a swollen mass of flesh and exploded, and Amosta suppressed the blast while answering the telephone.

Amosta Breen contained an Inferi’s explosive blast and traced the attack to preparations by the murderer, while a call from Fraser’s sister suggested a new lead. He left the Aurors expecting the Muggle girl to arrive in Cokeworth and provide useful information.

• Amosta trapped the explosion in a magical barrier, then sent its fireball into a river, where it boiled the water across a wide stretch.
• A young woman called looking for Fraser and told Amosta that their mother had broken her leg and wanted to see him.
• Amosta told the caller he was in Cokeworth, but she hung up before he could give his name.
• Amosta explained to Kingsley that the murderer had anticipated the investigation and prepared the explosion as a trap.
• Amosta replayed the house’s recent past, found that the traces had been erased, and said the caller’s arrival might reveal valuable information.

After a dark wizard used Fraser as a human bomb, Amosta Breen and the Aurors covered up his death and prepared for Louise Ander’s arrival. Amosta stopped Louise as she entered the alley, and she recognized him.

• Amosta used Permanent Transfiguration to restore Fraser’s body so his family would have something to bury.
• Amosta told Kingsley to leave only a few Aurors at the scene and have them disguise themselves.
• Louise arrived by taxi in the dangerous neighborhood after receiving information from a strange man over the phone.
• Louise saw a disheveled man staring at her through a window and screamed before rushing into the dark alley.
• Amosta caught Louise and identified her as a reporter for the London Daily, and she recognized him.

Amosta Breen and Kingsley told Louise Ander that her brother Fraser had suffered an unknown tragedy, and she broke down in grief. At St. Mungo’s, Sirius joined Tonks at Hermione’s bedside, where they cared for the unconscious Hermione before an elderly visitor arrived.

• Amosta and Kingsley met Louise in an alley and told her that something terrible had happened to Fraser.
• Louise revealed that Fraser was her brother and began sobbing.
• Sirius returned from a mission in Albania and asked Tonks about Hermione’s condition and the attack.
• Tonks and Sirius gave Hermione the golden Potion and watched healers treat her injuries.
• An elderly visitor came to Hermione’s ward and asked whether she was all right.

Hermione woke in St. Mungo’s after Professor Breen saved her and learned that Neville’s parents had been tortured into insanity by Death Eaters. The chapter left her recovering from her injuries and newly aware of the sacrifice Neville’s parents had made.

• Hermione gradually regained her senses in St. Mungo’s and learned from a healer that her right arm would remain weak for now.
• Sirius and Tonks told Hermione they had been assigned to protect her, and Sirius introduced Lady Augusta Longbottom.
• Hermione worried that Neville, Harry, or Ron had been attacked, but Sirius reassured her that all three were fine.
• Mrs. Longbottom explained that her son and daughter-in-law had resisted Voldemort as Aurors before a nurse hurried her away to see Alice.
• Sirius told Hermione that Death Eaters had tortured Neville’s parents into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse.