Chapter Summaries

Andy and Hermione suspected that Rita Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus after she uncovered Lockhart’s secrets, while Andy boasted that he would soon become famous. The Daily Prophet’s revelations caused an uproar at Hogwarts, and Lockhart decided to flee before his fraud was exposed further.

• Andy asked Hermione how Rita Skeeter had discovered Lockhart’s secret, and they considered whether Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus.
• Andy told Hermione he expected to become famous when his Patronus Charm paper was published and he became a registered Animagus.
• The Daily Prophet’s report about Lockhart sparked heated discussion at Hogwarts, and Malfoy panicked at being mentioned in the article.
• Lockhart read the report, tried to reassure himself that Skeeter had fabricated it, and realized he could not prove his magical ability.
• Lockhart decided to leave Hogwarts because he feared his secret would be exposed.

After the Ministry of Magic found evidence against Gilderoy Lockhart, Aurors arrived at Hogwarts to take him in for questioning. Lockhart was arrested after his attempt to resist failed, while Andy was left puzzled by the strange way his spell had strengthened the Auror’s Stunning Spell.

• Andy and Hermione joined the crowd outside the castle as Lockhart tried to leave Hogwarts with a suitcase.
• Professor McGonagall stopped Lockhart and insisted that he explain his sudden resignation to Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore arrived with two Ministry Aurors, and Hermione and Andy suspected Lockhart had used Memory Charms to steal other wizards’ stories.
• Auror Deloris said the Ministry had found evidence against Lockhart, who panicked and tried to defend himself with a spell.
• Deloris’s Stunning Spell unexpectedly grew stronger when Lockhart cast his defensive spell, knocking Lockhart unconscious.
• The other Auror put Magic Handcuffs on Lockhart, and Deloris told Dumbledore they would take him away.

Andy enjoyed a comfortable stretch after Lockhart was arrested, studying magic and arranging to sell half the Basilisk. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron noticed Snape appeared injured and decided to investigate him, ending with Ron suggesting they recruit George and Fred.

• Dumbledore led the Aurors away with the unconscious Lockhart, and Andy told Hermione that Lockhart would likely be sent to Azkaban.
• Andy spent his days studying magic, translating books in the Chamber of Secrets, and copying books in the Headmaster's Office created by the Room of Requirement.
• Norman Collins found a buyer for the Basilisk, and Andy mailed half of it to his grandfather's home.
• Harry told Ron that Snape seemed injured and reasoned that Snape must have left the castle.
• Harry and Ron suspected Snape was planning something and decided to look for clues in his office.
• Ron suggested asking George and Fred to help them sneak around at night.

Harry and Ron asked George and Fred how to investigate Snape’s office after noticing Snape seemed injured, while Andy submitted his Patronus Charm paper to Professor Flitwick. After George and Fred told Andy about Snape’s injury, Andy wondered what had happened and asked what they were planning.

• George and Fred told Harry and Ron that Andy had secretly stolen potion ingredients from Snape’s office without being caught.
• Harry and Ron said they wanted to investigate Snape’s office because Snape had seemed injured in Potions Class, and George and Fred advised them to wait until after midnight.
• Andy gave Professor Flitwick his completed paper on the Patronus Charm, and Flitwick said it could be published after the magazine verified Andy’s unusual Patronus.
• George and Fred met Andy outside the castle and told him that Harry and Ron had heard Snape was injured.
• Andy considered whether Voldemort might have punished Snape, then asked George and Fred what they were planning.

Andy agreed to keep an eye on Snape while the Weasley Twins worried that Harry and Ron would lose Gryffindor more points by wandering at night. Later, Andy studied the Chamber of Secrets’ Magical Transformation materials and realized that missing results left him unwilling to experiment on himself.

• George and Fred urged Andy to watch Snape, then admitted they were worried about Harry and Ron wandering at night and costing Gryffindor more points.
• After the Weasley Twins left, Andy wondered whether Snape had deliberately shown Harry his injury as bait, but decided to wait for more clues.
• When the week’s lessons ended, Andy went to the Chamber of Secrets to continue translating and studying Slytherin’s Magical Transformation materials.
• Andy found that crucial documents and the results of the transformation methods were missing, so he could not tell which method had the fewest side effects.
• After reading books about the human body and magic, Andy wondered whether he would have to conduct human experiments and realized he was not heartless enough to do so.

Andy decided that Voldemort’s return was necessary for his plans to hunt Death Eaters, and began considering the preparations he would need. After helping the tired Hermione return to her dormitory, he practiced Transfiguration in the Chamber of Secrets and noticed a possible difference between ordinary Transfiguration and Magical Transformation.

• Andy decided to learn the Fidelius Charm and find a laboratory, while considering Lucius Malfoy as a possible source of intelligence.
• Andy greeted Hermione at dinner and learned from Zhang Qiu that Hermione needed rest; Zhang Qiu offered to bring her breakfast.
• Andy and Zhang Qiu escorted Hermione back to her dormitory, and Andy later went to the Chamber of Secrets to continue translating and practice magic.
• Andy transformed chunks of the Giant Snake Statue into animals and realized that Magical Transformation might not require mentally constructing the desired object beforehand.

Andy concluded that Magical Transformation could not be made reliable simply by imagining a body beforehand, so he decided to improve his mind to better understand advanced magic. Later, he spotted Harry and Ron sneaking toward the basement with George and Fred following, and approached the twins while hidden.

• Andy reviewed Slytherin's manuscripts and realized that Magical Transformation, like Animagus Transformation, did not require constructing an image of the transformed object in the mind.
• Andy chose to raise his mind attribute next, aiming first for 5, and expected to reach 4 around Halloween.
• After working in the Chamber of Secrets until midnight, Andy checked the Marauder's Map and saw Harry Potter and Ron Weasley heading toward the basement, followed by George and Fred.
• Andy decided the Weasley twins might need the Marauder's Map more than he did and went to find them.
• Andy concealed himself with the Disillusionment Charm and cast Reveal, making George and Fred appear in a dark corner near the basement entrance.

Andy frightened George and Fred with a transfigured cat, then gave them the Marauder’s Map and stones so they could make fake Mrs. Norrises to scare nighttime wanderers. As Andy headed back to bed, Filch’s cat chased a Slytherin student toward Filch.

• Andy used Transfiguration to turn a book into a cat and startled George and Fred, who mistook it for Professor McGonagall or Mrs. Norris.
• George and Fred realized Andy had found them, and Andy returned the book to its normal form.
• Andy gave George and Fred the Marauder’s Map and two stones, and they used Transfiguration to make cats resembling Mrs. Norris.
• George and Fred sent their transfigured cats racing through the castle to frighten students out after curfew.
• Andy went back toward his dormitory and saw Filch’s cat chasing a Slytherin student toward Filch.

Andy continued researching Magical Transformation and practicing Transfiguration while staying out of Harry’s investigation. Snape caught Harry and Ron searching his office and brought the evidence to Dumbledore, who pretended not to understand and suggested Snape play along with them.

• Andy heard that a Slytherin student had been caught sneaking around and wondered how Harry and the others’ operation had gone, but decided not to get involved.
• Andy studied translated notes on Magical Transformation in the Chamber of Secrets, then concluded that he should wait until his mental attributes improved before tackling the difficult material.
• Andy left his quill translating manuscripts and resumed practicing Transfiguration in the outer chamber.
• Snape used a Crystal Ball to reveal Harry and Ron sneaking through his office and searching for something.
• Snape showed the Crystal Ball’s images to Dumbledore, who pretended to be senile and suggested Snape play along with Harry and Ron.

Dumbledore told Snape that Harry had to grow up quickly to face Voldemort because the prophecy bound them together, and Snape learned that love was the power Voldemort did not understand. The chapter ended with Snape wondering whether Andy Collins already knew these secrets and considering probing him.

• Snape asked Dumbledore whether Harry would face danger, and Dumbledore admitted that he might.
• Dumbledore explained that he needed Harry to grow up quickly so they could have a chance to defeat Voldemort.
• Dumbledore recited the full prophecy, and Snape realized that it foretold that Harry and Voldemort could not both survive.
• Snape asked what power Voldemort did not know, and Dumbledore answered that it was love.
• Snape associated that power with Lily and wondered whether Andy Collins already knew the secrets, then considered probing him.

Andy left the Chamber of Secrets and visited Snape, who hinted that Dark Arts Transformation was connected to Voldemort's power. Andy recognized that Snape wanted something from him and asked what it was.

• Andy spoke with Moaning Myrtle and learned she had never noticed the Chamber of Secrets entrance beneath the sink.
• Andy ate lunch in the Great Hall and asked Zhang Qiu about Hermione, then saw Snape heading to the basement and followed him.
• Andy visited Snape's office, teased him about his appearance, and prepared to leave when Snape told him to stop trespassing.
• Snape asked whether Andy was still researching Magical Transformation and hinted that Dark Arts Transformation held a secret of the Dark Lord's power.
• Andy realized Snape was trying to get something from him and asked what Snape wanted.

Andy tried to recruit Snape as a collaborator by arguing that Dumbledore was unreliable, then revealed that he already knew Voldemort’s secret to immortality. Snape explained the Dark Arts Transformation behind Voldemort’s power, leaving Andy to ask for more details.

• Andy proposed that he and Snape work together and criticized Dumbledore’s willingness to sacrifice others for his ideals.
• Snape rejected Andy’s offer and asked him to reveal the Dark Lord’s secret to immortality.
• Andy identified Horcruxes as Voldemort’s method, explaining how murder could split the soul and preserve a fragment beyond bodily death.
• Snape realized the dangers of Horcruxes and connected Voldemort’s fractured soul to his increasingly extreme personality and power.
• Andy asked Snape to explain the Dark Arts Transformation behind Voldemort’s power.

Snape explained how Dark Arts Transformation used negative emotions to alter the body and warned Andy that the Dark Arts corrupted both the mind and magic. Andy left with a new question about whether cultivating character could resist that corruption.

• Snape told Andy that Voldemort had never taught him Dark Arts Transformation and explained what he had learned from Restricted Section materials.
• Snape described Dark Arts Transformation as using negative emotions during Magical Transformation to make the body more suited to the Dark Arts.
• Andy compared the transformation to an Obscurus and considered why Voldemort had been so suited to the Dark Arts.
• Andy said the transformation was not suitable for him, then challenged Snape about being too afraid to try it.
• Snape called the Dark Arts evil power and warned that they drew out and strengthened a person's darkness until the mind and magic were corrupted.
• Andy thought of the China Magic Books Zhang Qiu had brought back and their focus on cultivating one's character.

After Snape’s explanation led Andy to rethink how the body and mind influenced each other, he reread a China Magic Book and theorized that strong willpower was essential for surviving Magical Transformation. He connected this idea to the risks of becoming an Animagus and left convinced that Will was the key.

• Andy thanked Snape for his explanation and returned to his dormitory.
• Andy reread Resisting the Temptation of Darkness and considered how the Cognitive Spirit and primordial spirit influenced each other.
• Andy concluded that Magical Transformation could alter the brain through the body’s reactions to magic.
• Andy considered whether the Will attribute could prevent those changes and reasoned that Thought must not exceed Will during transformation.
• Andy connected Magical Transformation to the danger of an Animagus’s animal instincts taking over and became convinced that strong Will was the answer.

Andy was preparing to have his spell research verified by Future of Spells magazine when he demonstrated that his Fat Cat Patronus could cast magic. The demonstration impressed the visitors and Professor Flitwick, who became so captivated by the Patronus that Andy felt ignored.

• Andy told Hermione that Future of Spells magazine would test his Patronus Charm and offered to let her read translated manuscripts from the Chamber of Secrets.
• Andy and Hermione met editor-in-chief Carl Carbone and photographer Dennis Hatch in Professor Flitwick's office.
• Andy conjured his Fat Cat Patronus, astonishing Carl by making it appear alive and casting silently.
• At Carl's request, the Fat Cat Patronus blocked a spell with Protego and countered with Expelliarmus.
• Carl eagerly asked to see more, while Professor Flitwick focused on the Fat Cat Patronus and left Andy feeling overlooked.

Andy tested the Fat Cat Patronus against Mr. Carbone, who praised its fusion of mind and magic power and approved Andy’s paper for publication. Mr. Carbone then explained that the mind controlled magic power and described how spells, incantations, and gestures related to its stability, leaving Andy asking why positive and negative emotions affected magic differently.

• Andy directed the Fat Cat Patronus to attack Mr. Carbone, who blocked its strikes and asked him to stop after five minutes.
• Mr. Carbone became fascinated by the Fat Cat Patronus and told Andy his paper could be published, with a month of newspaper headlines expected.
• Andy asked Mr. Carbone about ancient magic and his theory that the Patronus Charm was based on the Obscurus, and Mr. Carbone agreed with the idea.
• Mr. Carbone told Andy that skilled silent casters could cast spells through thought alone, and Professor Flitwick linked this ability to childhood magic eruptions.
• Mr. Carbone explained that the mind influenced unstable magic power, while stable magic power required methods such as incantations and gestures.
• Andy asked Mr. Carbone why positive and negative emotions affected magic power differently.

Andy discussed the relationship between magic, souls, and life with Mr. Carbone, who proposed that magic power sustained ghosts but admitted he did not know what enabled living beings to cast magic. Andy left with new questions about whether magic power was connected to life and how Voldemort’s remnant soul differed from a ghost.

• Mr. Carbone explained that the mind and magic power influenced each other, and that thoughts and will stemmed from the soul.
• Mr. Carbone asked Andy whether he had seen ghosts cast magic, then argued that ghosts could think and feel but had lost life.
• Andy considered whether Voldemort’s remnant soul could use magic because he had lost his body without truly dying.
• Mr. Carbone said he did not know what life was or how it related to casting magic, and guessed that magic power sustained ghosts.
• Andy thanked Mr. Carbone and wondered whether magic power was life, connecting the question to the Chinese concept of Primordial Qi.

Andy struggled to stop thinking about the essence of magic after discussing it with Professor Flitwick and Mr. Carbone, while Hermione urged him to focus on Magical Transformation. In Professor Flitwick's office, Flitwick and Mr. Carbone praised Andy's unusual Patronus Charm, and Flitwick began to reveal that he had been keeping something from him.

• Professor Flitwick told Andy and Hermione that Andy's Patronus Charm had been verified and that his paper would soon be published.
• Andy wondered how magic, souls, and ghosts were connected, then used Occlumency to clear his mind after Hermione reminded him to eat and focus on Magical Transformation.
• Professor Flitwick and Mr. Carbone discussed Andy's exceptional Fat Cat Patronus and agreed that it might still improve.
• Professor Flitwick said he had hesitated to tell Andy something about their earlier discussion.

Flitwick and Mr. Carbone worried that Andy’s research might turn magical power into an independent magical creature, but disagreed about whether Andy would recognize the danger himself. While practicing his Patronus, Andy independently developed a theory connecting magical power, life force, and Obscuruses, and felt relieved that his Fat Cat Patronus was only magic.

• Mr. Carbone and Flitwick discussed how suppressing negative emotions could create an Obscurus and warned that giving magical power its own thoughts might create a dangerous creature.
• Mr. Carbone urged Flitwick to talk to Collins, arguing that people would not willingly risk surrendering their lives to independent magical power.
• After dinner, Andy practiced the Patronus Charm in the Practice Room in the Room of Requirement and wondered why an Obscurus and its host died together.
• Andy compared magical power to China's Primordial Qi and theorized that an Obscurus was a form of life that would eventually leave its host, taking the host's life force.
• Andy concluded that his Fat Cat Patronus was only magic and speculated that magical power might be born from Primordial Qi, noting that powerful wizards lived longer.

Andy read Mr. Carbone’s letter about the research impact of his improved Patronus Charm and planned to focus on developing his Thought and Will attributes. Dumbledore read the published paper and concluded that Andy’s mastery of the Patronus Charm showed his soul was safe from corruption by the Dark Arts.

• Andy set a short-term plan to raise his Thought and Will attributes, then practiced magic in the Practice Room.
• Mr. Carbone wrote that Andy’s Patronus Charm had inspired magical researchers and might earn him rewards from the International Confederation of Wizards and the British Ministry of Magic.
• Hermione read the magazine’s photographs of Andy and his Fat Cat Patronus battling Mr. Carbone and praised the spell.
• Dumbledore read Andy’s paper and reflected on the dangers of magical research and the importance of a correct line of thought.
• Dumbledore felt reassured that Andy’s mastery of the Patronus Charm meant the Dark Arts could no longer corrupt his heart.