Chapter Summaries

Andy defeated Hermione, Zhang Qiu, and Cedric in dueling practice, showing how much his combat ability had improved over the summer. He left the Great Hall thinking about the advanced magic he still needed to learn to approach Dumbledore and Voldemort’s strength.

• Andy defended against Hermione and Zhang Qiu’s spells, then disarmed both of them after several rounds of practice.
• Zhang Qiu remarked on Andy’s improvement, and Andy reflected on how his dueling strength had grown beyond that of ordinary students.
• Andy invited Hermione to visit his home during the summer to practice magic, and Hermione blushed and said they could discuss it later.
• Andy, Hermione, Zhang Qiu, and Cedric stopped practicing at five thirty and headed to the Great Hall.
• Andy considered trying Combination Magic, Magical Transformation, and the Patronus Charm in the coming year, while realizing he still had many subjects to study.

Andy received a family package, attended Potions class, and later stole ingredients from Snape’s office to brew Veritaserum. After abandoning his first attempt when a portrait could identify him, he succeeded the next night and returned to the Room of Requirement with the ingredients.

• Andy received odor-removing potion and letters from Kyle, Helen, and Isabel, then kept the potion hidden from Hermione.
• Andy attended Snape’s Potions class, where Snape reviewed first-year material and Justin blew up his cauldron during the group brewing exercise.
• Andy left the dormitory at night with the Marauder’s Map, but turned back after a portrait saw him wandering the castle.
• The following night, Andy waited until Snape had returned to sleep, then unlocked his office and took ingredients for Veritaserum along with several others.
• Andy reached the Room of Requirement without triggering any traps and wondered whether Snape had grown complacent at Hogwarts.

Andy reviewed his precautions after stealing potion ingredients from Snape and tried to understand why Snape had left Hogwarts late the previous night. When the theft became the subject of gossip, Hermione confronted Andy, and Snape appeared to suspect him at the castle entrance.

• Andy checked that he had left no trace of his break-in and wondered why Snape had left the castle late at night.
• Gryffindors heard that Snape had docked them points and that ingredients had been stolen from his office, while Marcus Flint threatened the thief.
• Hermione accused Andy of stealing the ingredients and warned him that using Veritaserum was against the law.
• Andy admitted the theft and explained that he wanted to learn practical Defense Against the Dark Arts rather than waste a year with an incompetent professor.
• Snape confronted Andy and Hermione at the castle entrance and said that he already had clues about the theft.

Andy hinted to Snape that he knew about his nighttime movements, turning their suspicion over the stolen potion ingredients into a tense agreement to keep each other’s secrets. Snape later concluded that Andy had become dangerously perceptive, especially as he secretly planned with Lucius Malfoy to cause a disturbance at Azkaban.

• Andy warned Snape to be careful at night and implied he knew Snape had left Hogwarts after dark.
• Andy suggested Snape’s secret involved Voldemort, and Snape left without confirming or denying it.
• Andy told Hermione he and Snape had agreed to keep each other’s secrets, then denied admitting to stealing the potion ingredients.
• Snape searched his office for surveillance devices, found none, and recalled that he had suspected Andy of stealing the ingredients.
• Snape reflected on Andy’s knowledge of his movements and worried that Andy was becoming increasingly dangerous as he secretly planned with Lucius Malfoy to disrupt Azkaban.

Andy secretly began brewing Veritaserum and used the Room of Requirement to safely test Fiendfyre. After discovering how powerful the curse was, he grew eager to uncover the deeper secrets of magic and the Wizarding World.

• Andy slipped out of the dormitory at night and used the Room of Requirement to begin brewing Veritaserum, which would take a month to finish.
• Andy requested a practice room and confirmed that it could suppress dangerous magic when his Fire Curse nearly went out of control.
• Andy cast Fiendfyre and found that he could summon a small golden flame, while recognizing how disastrous the curse could become if it escaped his control.
• Andy reflected on the destructive power of Fiendfyre and began questioning what other powerful magic and long-lived wizards might exist in the Wizarding World.

Andy tested his Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement and planned to use it against the Basilisk while seeking information about Parseltongue and Slytherin’s research. He later told Hermione about the room and invited her to visit it that night, leaving her warning him that his rule-breaking could get him expelled or sent to Azkaban.

• Andy practiced the Fiendfyre Curse until he could shape it into a six-meter Fire Hawk and decided it could help him defeat the Basilisk.
• Andy reviewed his goals and identified emotions, Magical Transformation, and composite magic as his main research directions.
• Andy spoke with Hermione about translating the Chinese magical books and explained that their spells could be cast in English.
• Andy reassured Hermione that he practiced Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement, then invited her to see it that night.
• Hermione warned Andy that his sneaking around could get him expelled or eventually sent to Azkaban.

Andy and Hermione entered the Room of Requirement to inspect Andy’s Veritaserum, then tried to make the room suitable for practicing the Patronus Charm. The new room appeared with a large chest in its center.

• Andy teased Hermione about becoming Minister of Magic so she could rescue him from Azkaban, and Hermione threatened to imprison him instead.
• Andy waited for Hermione in the Common Room, and they used the Marauder’s Map to check on Dumbledore and Snape.
• Andy and Hermione went to the Room of Requirement, where they found Andy’s untouched cauldron of Veritaserum.
• Hermione asked whether the Room of Requirement could become a place to practice the Patronus Charm, and Andy helped summon such a room.
• Andy opened the new room and found a chest over a meter tall in its center.

Andy helped Hermione practice the Patronus Charm in the Room of Requirement, where she successfully produced an otter Patronus. The next day, Andy visited Lockhart to request permission to borrow a Restricted Section book about the Curse of Vanishing, and Lockhart agreed to sign a slip.

• Andy opened a box containing a Dementor, and Hermione drove it back with the Patronus Charm.
• Hermione practiced for two hours and formed an otter Patronus.
• Andy planned how to get Harry to reveal his Parseltongue secret.
• Andy visited Lockhart's office, where Harry was writing replies to fans during detention.
• Andy asked Lockhart for permission to borrow a Restricted Section book about the Curse of Vanishing, and Lockhart agreed.

Andy obtained Lockhart’s permit to enter the Restricted Section, then discovered that Harry could understand a snake. Andy told Harry that he was an innate Parselmouth, leaving Harry shocked by the possibility of a connection to Salazar Slytherin.

• Andy flattered Lockhart and received a permit to enter the Restricted Section.
• Lockhart boasted that he had used the Curse of Vanishing to stop Fiendfyre in Paris, and Andy asked him to teach the spell.
• Andy and Harry left Lockhart’s office, and Harry complained about Andy’s praise of the professor.
• Harry heard a hissing voice and warned Andy that it might kill someone.
• Andy levitated a small snake from a window and realized that Harry could understand it.
• Andy explained that Parselmouth abilities could be inherited and told Harry that his ability was innate.

Andy persuaded Harry to help him learn Parseltongue, hoping to use it to enter Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and find the Basilisk and Slytherin's research notes. After arranging to meet Harry, Andy studied a dangerous book about the soul in an imitation of the Headmaster's Office.

• Andy reassured Harry that his Parseltongue did not determine his character and asked him to help Andy learn the ability.
• Harry agreed to meet Andy in the Abandoned Classroom on the Sixth Floor the next afternoon and keep the arrangement secret.
• Andy returned to the Room of Requirement, prepared Veritaserum, and considered how to record Harry saying the words needed to open the Chamber of Secrets.
• Andy copied and read a book called "Talking with Your Soul," which described the soul and the effects of the Imperius Curse and Soul Extraction.

After reading about the soul, Andy wondered whether Harry was one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and planned to learn Parseltongue from him. Andy agreed to take Hermione to the Chamber of Secrets only if she first proved she could fly on a stone eagle.

• Andy read about a dangerous spell that let someone sense and control their own soul, but decided it offered no practical benefit.
• After staying up late, Andy woke around lunchtime and told Hermione he planned to learn Parseltongue from Harry.
• Andy realized Harry might be a Horcrux created when Voldemort attacked him, and wondered whether Harry would have to die to defeat Voldemort.
• Hermione asked to accompany Andy into the Chamber of Secrets, but Andy said the Basilisk was too dangerous and set her a stone-eagle flying challenge.
• Andy headed to the library before meeting Harry, and Hermione reminded him that he had previously kept Snape’s secret from her.

Andy practiced Parseltongue with Harry and planned to test whether it could open the Chamber of Secrets. At Malfoy Manor, Snape warned Lucius Malfoy that the diary had put his position on the Hogwarts School Board at risk, and Lucius asked what else Snape had come to discuss.

• Andy met Harry in an abandoned classroom and asked him to teach him Parseltongue.
• Harry demonstrated Parseltongue, and Andy learned five pronunciations despite struggling to understand the snake language himself.
• After Harry left, Andy practiced the words for “open” and “close” and planned to visit the Girls' Bathroom to test the Chamber entrance.
• Snape visited Malfoy Manor and warned Lucius Malfoy that Dumbledore seemed intent on removing him as a School Board Member because of the diary.
• Lucius Malfoy cursed Dumbledore and asked Snape whether he had come for anything else.

Snape tested Andy about his movements while secretly planning to stage a disturbance in Azkaban for Voldemort, but Andy deduced his intentions and confronted him with a bargain. The chapter ended with Snape and Andy drawing their wands, ready to fight.

• Snape asked Lucius Malfoy to visit Bellatrix Lestrange in Azkaban and reminded him that the imprisoned Death Eaters might eventually escape.
• Andy noticed Snape testing him at Hogwarts and inferred that Snape had left the castle to pursue a plan connected to Voldemort.
• Snape returned to his office, planning to stage an Azkaban disturbance to prove his loyalty to Voldemort without actually freeing a Death Eater.
• Andy visited Snape and offered to keep quiet about his absence in exchange for information about Voldemort's transformations and Magical Transformation.
• Snape drew his wand after Andy disparaged the Death Eaters, and Andy drew his own, eager to test Snape's skill.

Andy tested himself against Snape, learned that Snape would not reveal Voldemort’s secrets, and found the entrance to Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets. He left the chamber unexplored for now and planned to prepare before facing the Basilisk.

• Snape fought Andy, shattered his Protego, and warned him that magical transformation and prying into Voldemort’s secrets were dangerous.
• Andy admitted he still had a long way to go before matching top wizards, then left Snape’s office after making his intentions clear.
• Andy entered the Girls' Bathroom, opened the hidden entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and decided to return after preparing roosters and other safeguards.
• Andy went to the Room of Requirement to study and practice, aiming to improve his Charms talent before exploring the Chamber.

Andy and Hermione watched a confrontation between Gryffindor and Slytherin escalate after Malfoy mocked the Weasleys and Ron’s spell backfired. As Fred retaliated with a foul-smelling bomb, someone cast Levicorpus, leaving the spell’s target unclear.

• Andy and Hermione read outside the castle and discussed Hermione’s progress with Chinese spells.
• Andy stopped Hermione from going to fetch a professor when they noticed Gryffindor and Slytherin confronting each other.
• Malfoy showed off Slytherin’s new Nimbus 2001 brooms and taunted Ron about his family’s poverty and his father’s troubles.
• Ron tried to curse Malfoy with Eat slugs, but the spell rebounded and made Ron vomit slugs.
• Fred threw an exploding, foul-smelling ball at Malfoy, and someone cast Levicorpus amid the chaos.

A prank involving Malfoy sparked a large fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin, leaving many students injured before the professors stopped it. Andy watched the brawl and resolved to learn escape magic, while Hermione worried about the injured students.

• Fred threw a Dungbomb, and an unknown wizard hoisted Malfoy upside down, exposing his underwear and triggering a fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
• Andy and Hermione joined the crowd of spectators as students exchanged minor curses and some were injured by rebounding spells or trampled.
• Andy considered how vulnerable he would be in a large fight and decided to ask Helen to teach him Apparition and later learn to make Portkeys.
• Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Madam Pomfrey arrived, and Dumbledore used a spell to separate the fighters.
• Madam Pomfrey treated the students while Professor McGonagall conjured stretchers for the seriously injured, and Dumbledore ordered everyone back to the Great Hall.
• Hermione told Andy that the students had been badly hurt, and Andy admitted that they should have found the professors sooner.

After a Gryffindor-Slytherin brawl, Andy explained the conflict’s roots in pure-blood ideology while Hermione decided she wanted to become Minister of Magic and reform the Wizarding World. Dumbledore addressed the students, punished both Houses, and promised rules for using the Quidditch pitch.

• Hermione questioned Andy about the severity of the Gryffindor-Slytherin conflict, and Andy described it as a class conflict rooted in pure-blood ideology.
• Andy reflected that the Wizarding World was becoming unsustainable and decided he would focus on gaining enough magical power to protect himself and his family.
• Hermione told Andy she wanted to become Minister of Magic and change the backward Wizarding World, and Andy promised to support her.
• Andy warned Hermione that Voldemort’s return would destroy the pure-blood families, suggesting it might make her political ambitions easier.
• Dumbledore accepted responsibility for the brawl, promised new Quidditch pitch rules, deducted two hundred points from each House, and assigned detention to the students chiefly responsible.
• Andy joked to Hermione that the students should seek out Professor Lockhart if another conflict arose.

After the school conflict, Andy and Hermione practiced magic and discussed Andy opening the Chamber of Secrets, while Dumbledore and Snape planned their efforts against Voldemort. The chapter ended with Snape warning that Collins was probing the Dark Lord’s secrets and knew about the Dark Arts Item tied to his immortality.

• Andy and Hermione avoided the crowds and went to the Room of Requirement to practice magic.
• Andy told Hermione that he had opened the Chamber of Secrets entrance with Parseltongue but was not ready to investigate further.
• In the Headmaster’s Office, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape discussed the school’s reputation and preventing further conflict.
• Snape told Dumbledore that he planned to act next month, though Lucius was still hesitant about Voldemort’s return.
• Snape warned Dumbledore that Collins knew Snape had left the castle and was investigating Dark Arts Transformation.
• Snape said Collins knew Voldemort’s immortality was connected to a Dark Arts Item.

Dumbledore and Snape discussed Andy Collins’s dangerous magical research, while Dumbledore trusted Andy to judge its risks for himself. Later, Dumbledore encountered Andy at night and questioned his views on Muggles and the Wizarding World, leaving their conversation focused on the danger of wizarding isolation.

• Snape told Dumbledore that Andy’s future did not concern him as long as Andy did not harm Harry, and Dumbledore said students could not be forbidden from pursuing dangerous magic.
• After Snape left, Dumbledore examined Voldemort’s burned Horcrux and wondered where the other Horcruxes were hidden.
• Andy left his dormitory to practice magic and pursue another Potential Point, but Dumbledore intercepted him in a corridor despite the Marauder’s Map.
• Andy joined Dumbledore by the window, and they discussed Andy’s plans after graduation and his views of Muggles.
• Dumbledore warned Andy that the Wizarding World’s refusal to notice changes in the outside world was dangerous.

Andy rejected the idea of taking responsibility for saving the Wizarding World, then raised his Charms talent to seven and transformed his Patronus through his happy memories. He discovered that the Fat Cat Patronus had become a sentient, controllable magical presence that could use spells.

• Andy told Dumbledore that wizards who refused to face the outside world could not be forced to change, and said people should focus on protecting themselves.
• Dumbledore left for the Headmaster's Office, accepting that the future belonged to the next generation.
• Andy completed more than three hours of practice, gained a Potential Point, and spent all seven points on his Charms talent.
• Andy infused his Fat Cat Patronus with happy memories from both his lives, making it stronger and able to convey its emotions to him.
• Andy tested the Patronus and found that it could not attack physical targets, but he sensed its thoughts and realized it could use Protego.