Chapter Summaries

Andy discovered that his improved Patronus could cast White Magic under his control, giving him a second fighter in battle, and decided to focus next on researching Magical Transformation. He and Hermione prepared to explore the Chamber of Secrets once the roosters Andy ordered arrived.

• Andy tested the Fat Cat Patronus and found that it could cast White Magic but was rejected when it attempted the Dark Arts.
• Andy decided to raise his magical power and Transfiguration before attempting Magical Transformation, then went to bed.
• Andy wrote to Helen asking her to buy roosters and send them in a bag enchanted with the Space Extension Charm.
• Andy told Hermione that he had almost finished learning Parseltongue and planned to explore the Chamber of Secrets once the roosters arrived.
• Andy advised Hermione to prepare Biological Transformation so they could escape on transformed eagles if their attempt to kill the Basilisk became dangerous.

Andy showed Hermione that his improved Patronus could cast magic, defending against spells and attacking her, then tested how Hermione’s Patronus affected it. He left the test confident that his Patronus could act independently while its opponent could not.

• Hermione proposed using a Flying Broom to explore the Chamber of Secrets, and Andy agreed.
• Andy told Hermione that his Fat Cat Patronus could use magic and brought her to an abandoned classroom to demonstrate.
• Hermione attacked the Fat Cat Patronus with spells, but it raised a barrier and deflected them.
• The Fat Cat Patronus charged Hermione and knocked her wand away, while Andy explained that it could attack and resist magical spells.
• Hermione summoned her Otter Patronus, which the Fat Cat dodged before Andy let it collide with the Fat Cat, only to be repelled.

Andy and Hermione prepared to enter the Chamber Dungeon and kill the Basilisk, relying on a rooster, Fiendfyre, and an escape route. They opened the hidden entrance, and Andy used a Levitation Charm to help Hermione descend after she insisted on joining him.

• Andy told Hermione he wanted to duel Snape to test his strength, while insisting he would challenge him properly rather than attack him.
• Andy and Hermione reviewed their plan to suppress the Basilisk with a rooster, burn it with Fiendfyre, and escape on Flying Brooms if necessary.
• Andy and Hermione sneaked out at night, took Flying Brooms from Madam Hooch's office, and reached the abandoned Second Floor bathroom.
• Andy unlocked the bathroom door, cast a Silencing Charm, and opened the Chamber Dungeon entrance by imitating a snake.
• Hermione hesitated at the steep descent but insisted on going with Andy, who used a Levitation Charm to guide her into the Chamber Dungeon.

Andy and Hermione entered the Chamber of Secrets, where Andy lured out the Basilisk and used a rooster’s crow to weaken it. With the Basilisk still inside, Andy prepared to attack it with Fiendfyre.

• Andy and Hermione explored the passages beneath Hogwarts and discussed whether Slytherin had built them to let the Basilisk reach the castle.
• Andy opened the Chamber of Secrets and told Hermione to wait by the entrance while he lured out the Basilisk.
• Andy called to the Basilisk, placed the transformed rooster’s stone nearby, and retreated from the Chamber.
• Andy reversed the rooster’s Transfiguration so its crow would harm the Basilisk, then prepared a ball of Fiendfyre.

Andy used Fiendfyre to kill the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, but the uncontrolled flames destroyed half its body and its most valuable parts. He extinguished the fire with the Curse of Vanishing and left with the remains, hoping to fund his magical Amusement Park project.

• Andy sent Fiendfyre into the Chamber of Secrets and burned the Basilisk, while Hermione watched in shock and declined his offer to learn the spell.
• Andy entered the Chamber with Hermione and realized Fiendfyre was difficult to control because it depended on the caster’s will.
• Andy extinguished the flames with the Curse of Vanishing and found that half the Basilisk’s body and many valuable organs had been destroyed.
• Hermione felt sick at the sight of the burned Basilisk, and Andy reassured her before deciding to collect the remains.
• Andy used a Space Extension Charm bag and the Levitation Charm to store half the Basilisk, hoping its sale would fund his magical Amusement Park.

Andy and Hermione searched the Basilisk’s nest in the Chamber of Secrets for Salazar Slytherin’s laboratory but found no hidden doors or mechanisms. They debated why Slytherin had left the Basilisk behind and concluded that the laboratory might be near its nest.

• Andy claimed the Basilisk’s corpse belonged to him, and Hermione challenged his reasoning.
• Andy and Hermione entered the tunnel through Slytherin’s statue and explored the Basilisk’s nest.
• Andy searched the stone chamber, including with Parseltongue, but found nothing.
• Hermione suggested Slytherin would not have put his laboratory in a pet room, and Andy reconsidered the Basilisk’s purpose.
• Andy and Hermione discussed why Slytherin had left Hogwarts and the Basilisk behind.
• Hermione proposed that if the Basilisk guarded Slytherin’s laboratory, the laboratory should be near its nest.

Andy and Hermione discovered Slytherin’s hidden laboratory in the Chamber of Secrets after realizing his statue’s gaze pointed toward its entrance. They entered the room and began searching its contents for what Slytherin had left behind.

• After finding nothing in the Basilisk’s lair, Andy suggested that Slytherin’s laboratory was elsewhere and guessed that Slytherin had been an extreme narcissist.
• Andy followed the direction of Slytherin’s statue’s gaze and found a hidden magical mechanism in the wall beside the Chamber entrance.
• Andy spoke Parseltongue to open the wall, revealing a wooden door marked with the Slytherin symbol.
• Andy and Hermione entered a room furnished as both a meeting space and a laboratory, with research materials and magical equipment.
• Andy and Hermione agreed to search the laboratory carefully without damaging anything.

Andy and Hermione found Slytherin’s research materials in the Chamber of Secrets, but they could not read the Ancient English and planned to translate them later. On their way back, they discovered Snape had left Hogwarts again, and Andy suspected he was planning something with Dumbledore to confront Voldemort.

• Andy and Hermione found books and handwritten manuscripts in the Chamber of Secrets and realized they were research on Magical Transformation.
• Andy and Hermione decided to learn Ancient English before translating the materials, then put them back and left the Chamber.
• Andy checked the Marauder’s Map and helped Hermione avoid Filch while they left the washroom.
• Hermione noticed Snape was absent from both his office and bedroom, and Andy guessed Snape was planning something big with Dumbledore.
• Andy told Hermione to stay out of it and suggested she watch The Daily Prophet for news before they returned to sleep.

Andy read reports that Azkaban had been attacked and a Death Eater had died beneath the Dementor's Kiss, then suspected Snape had staged the attack to gain Voldemort's trust. He wondered whether Snape was still loyal to Dumbledore and how Voldemort would respond to the failed raid.

• Andy read the Ministry's account of a Death Eater attacking Azkaban and the Aurors preventing any prisoners from escaping.
• Andy read Rita Skeeter's report suggesting that a Death Eater was hidden inside Hogwarts and had joined a secret agreement with others.
• Andy concluded that Snape was likely the attacker and speculated that he had acted to earn Voldemort's trust while preventing prisoners from escaping.
• Hermione heard that Azkaban had been attacked, took the newspaper from Andy, and began reading it.
• Andy wondered whether Snape was a double agent and whether the failed attack would make Voldemort more anxious.

After the Daily Prophet reported the attack on Azkaban, Hermione suspected Snape was responsible, while Andy kept his knowledge to himself. Snape confronted Andy after Potions, but Andy turned his warning back on him and promised nothing more than that his lips were sealed.

• Hermione read the news about the Azkaban attack and suspected Snape, while Andy refused to confirm what he knew.
• Andy read Rita Skeeter's report claiming that the Aurors had let the attacker escape, and realized the story was true when Potions Class was not canceled.
• Andy and Hermione attended Potions Class with an unharmed Snape, who ignored them throughout the lesson.
• Snape kept Andy behind after class, and Andy locked the door and cast a Silencing Charm before confronting him about the failed operation.
• Snape warned Andy that knowing too much was dangerous, but Andy taunted him with the possibility of involving Lucius Malfoy and promised to keep his lips sealed.

Andy confronted Snape with Rita Skeeter’s article about a Death Eater hiding at Hogwarts and used the secret to demand hush money, while Snape refused and sent him away. Andy and Hermione left believing Snape was spying on Voldemort, and Andy concluded that Lucius Malfoy had remained loyal to him.

• Andy showed Snape Rita Skeeter’s article about a Death Eater hiding at Hogwarts and demanded hush money.
• Snape threatened Andy, but Andy mentioned his reporter aunt, prompting Snape to order him out of the classroom.
• Hermione waited in the corridor, worried Snape might hurt Andy, and Snape mocked her before leaving.
• Andy told Hermione that Snape was keeping his secret and inferred from Snape’s reaction that Lucius Malfoy remained loyal to Voldemort.
• Hermione worried that Snape’s undercover mission was dangerous and that Voldemort might return at any moment.

Andy deduced that a Death Eater might come to Hogwarts next year to obtain Harry’s blood for Voldemort’s resurrection, while Snape sought Dumbledore’s help after Rita Skeeter’s article exposed a Death Eater hiding at Hogwarts. Dumbledore warned Snape that Voldemort’s trust would make him demand even more dangerous actions.

• Andy worked out that Voldemort needed Harry’s blood to rebuild his body and resolved to attack the Death Eater if he encountered him.
• Andy reassured Hermione that they could uncover the secret of Voldemort’s immortality, and Hermione promised to finish translating Slytherin’s research materials.
• Snape deducted points from Gryffindor after finding Harry and Ron arguing with Malfoy in the corridor.
• Snape went to Dumbledore’s office and saw that Dumbledore had noticed Rita Skeeter’s article about a Death Eater hiding at Hogwarts.
• Snape said his operation had gained Voldemort’s trust, but Dumbledore warned that this would make Voldemort push him to continue acting.

Snape agreed to buy Dumbledore time by telling Voldemort that Azkaban's security had increased and Dumbledore suspected him, though he could delay Voldemort for no more than two years. Meanwhile, Andy and Hermione planned to visit the Chamber of Secrets that night to translate its Ancient English materials.

• Snape told Dumbledore he could delay Voldemort for at most two years, and Dumbledore urged him to stall as long as possible or abandon the undercover plan if necessary.
• Dumbledore privately recognized that Harry was likely one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and wanted to delay Voldemort's return until Harry had grown up.
• Snape proposed telling Voldemort that Azkaban's guards had been strengthened and Dumbledore suspected him because of the newspaper report; Dumbledore approved the excuse.
• Andy considered how to use the brewing Veritaserum and Lockhart's past crimes to draw attention and secure a harsh sentence for Lockhart.
• Hermione continued studying Ancient English despite Andy's suggestion to use a dictionary, and she agreed to visit the Chamber of Secrets with him that night if they returned to the dormitory before midnight.

Andy and Hermione returned to the Chamber of Secrets to translate Slytherin’s research materials, using the Levitation Charm to fly down instead of bringing brooms. As they prepared to read the first book, Andy revealed that the research concerned human Transfiguration, prompting Hermione to wonder whether Slytherin had experimented on students.

• Andy and Hermione discussed whether the Hogwarts founders had left behind hidden secrets as they headed to the Chamber of Secrets.
• After realizing they had forgotten their brooms, Andy and Hermione used the Levitation Charm on each other to fly to the Chamber’s depths.
• Andy and Hermione entered the laboratory and used magic to copy a black-covered book into a notebook for translation.
• Andy explained to Hermione that Slytherin’s research materials concerned modifying the body through human Transfiguration.
• Hermione wondered whether Slytherin had used students as test subjects.

Andy and Hermione read a Dark Arts book, while Andy’s grandfather Norman offered to find a buyer for the Basilisk. In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Lockhart called Andy to the front to demonstrate how to defeat a Death Eater.

• Andy and Hermione finished reading a translated book of Dark Arts that Andy recognized as a reference for Magical Transformation.
• Norman Collins wrote that he could sell Andy’s half of a Millennial Basilisk, though he questioned whether Andy actually had one.
• Andy received Norman’s letter and planned to confirm that his grandfather truly had a buyer.
• Lockhart boasted about capturing Dark Wizards before asking Andy to play a Death Eater and attack him in front of the class.
• Andy walked to the podium as Hermione and the other students watched, and Lockhart assured him that he could not hurt him.

Andy knocked Lockhart unconscious during a Defense Against the Dark Arts demonstration, then showed Professor Flitwick that his Patronus could use magic. Flitwick praised the achievement as a miracle that could change the magical world.

• Andy stunned Lockhart, who had challenged him to demonstrate how to respond to a dark wizard's attack, and ended the lesson early.
• Andy and Malfoy recognized the publicity opportunity, while Malfoy and his lackeys carried Lockhart through the castle and Colin Creevey photographed him.
• Andy asked Colin for a copy of the photo, intending to send it to Rita Skeeter, then visited the library and sent a letter to his grandfather Norman.
• Professor Flitwick reassured Andy that he would not be blamed for stunning Lockhart and praised the spell's strength.
• Andy summoned his Fat Cat Patronus and showed Flitwick that it could conjure a protective barrier; Flitwick called the discovery a miracle that could transform the magical world.

Andy discussed the nature of his Fat Cat Patronus and Obscuruses with Professor Flitwick, then agreed to publish his improved Patronus Charm. The mystery of how magic itself could be transformed remained unresolved.

• Andy asked Professor Flitwick whether he had ever seen a real Obscurus and explained that he wanted to understand its power.
• Professor Flitwick said Andy’s Patronus was a spell, while an Obscurus was a special state of magic, and suggested studying how an Obscurus formed.
• Andy realized that the conditions for creating an Obscurus had opposites in the Patronus Charm: happiness about magic, love for magical ability, and consciously using it.
• Professor Flitwick suggested that Andy’s Fat Cat Patronus might be the ultimate form of the Patronus Charm and reminded him that White Magic and the Dark Arts could work differently.
• Professor Flitwick proposed publishing Andy’s improved Patronus Charm in Future of Spells, and Andy agreed before following him into class.

After Professor Flitwick praised Andy Collins’s Patronus Charm and offered to help him publish a paper, Andy planned to expose Gilderoy Lockhart’s fraud by sending evidence to Rita Skeeter. He finished a letter accusing Lockhart of stealing other people’s stories and set off with Hermione to send it.

• Andy told Hermione that Professor Flitwick had not punished him for beating Lockhart and was pleased with what he had done.
• Professor Flitwick offered to help Andy write a paper about the Patronus Charm and gave him access to books on Obscuruses.
• Colin Creevey gave Andy photographs of Malfoy and his friends carrying an unconscious Lockhart while students mocked him.
• Andy wrote to Rita Skeeter, claiming Lockhart had stolen the experiences in his books, and asked her for advice on exposing him.
• Hermione agreed with Andy’s accusation and offered to help before joining him on the way to the Owl Shed.

Rita Skeeter received Andy Collins’s evidence against Gilderoy Lockhart and went to Hogwarts to investigate him. After an unsatisfying interview with Albus Dumbledore, she transformed into a beetle and successfully infiltrated the school.

• Rita Skeeter read Andy Collins’s letter and studied a photograph that appeared to show Lockhart unconscious and mocked by students.
• Rita decided the evidence needed confirmation and secured permission from editor-in-chief Barnabas Cuffe to interview Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts.
• Andy and Hermione saw Rita enter the Headmaster’s Office, and Andy explained that she was likely investigating Lockhart.
• After dinner, Hermione went to the Ravenclaw Library while Andy headed to the Chamber of Secrets to translate books and manuscripts.
• Rita left Dumbledore’s office dissatisfied, transformed into a beetle, and infiltrated Hogwarts.

Lockhart panicked after Andy exposed his magical incompetence, while Rita Skeeter overheard him confess to using Memory Charms to steal other people's adventures. The next morning, her article publicly exposed Lockhart as a fraud and questioned Dumbledore's judgment, leaving Hermione to debate its accusations with Andy.

• Lockhart worried that the rumors about his defeat by Andy would spread beyond Hogwarts and admitted he had used Memory Charms to silence people whose stories he stole.
• Rita Skeeter, disguised as a beetle, overheard Lockhart and realized how he had built his fame by taking other people's adventures.
• Rita wrote an article exposing Lockhart in the Daily Prophet and suggesting he might have been connected to the Azkaban attack.
• Andy and Hermione read the article, which also criticized Dumbledore for hiring Quirrell and Lockhart as professors.
• Hermione objected to Rita's attack on Dumbledore, while Andy argued that the article's accusations about his judgment were understandable.