Chapter Summaries

Andy discovered that Modern Spell Theory had been written by his late neighbor Pandora Lovegood and studied its ideas about emotion, language, and instinct in spellcasting. He left History of Magic determined to avoid dangerous experiments until he was stronger, while considering—but rejecting—a visit to the Lovegood home.

• Andy found Modern Spell Theory, realized Pandora Lovegood had written it, and remembered her death in a spell experiment when he was young.
• Andy read about how emotions could influence spell power and wondered whether Voldemort's evil nature strengthened his Dark Arts.
• Andy and Hermione borrowed books from the library and went to History of Magic, where Professor Binns's monotonous lecture bored them.
• Andy ignored the lecture and read Modern Spell Theory, which questioned whether language and gestures were necessary for casting magic.
• Andy decided to avoid dangerous magical experiments until his abilities improved, then thought about visiting Lovegood House at Christmas before deciding it might be impolite.

Andy took Hermione to an abandoned classroom to practice magic and explored whether intense emotions could strengthen spells. After recalling painful memories, he cast a much more powerful Petrification Curse, astonishing Hermione.

• Andy invited Hermione to practice spells with him instead of going to the library.
• Andy showed Hermione how to control a fireball and told her to practice throwing light from her Lumos Charm.
• Andy experimented with using emotions to strengthen the Petrification Curse and considered how extreme feelings might affect magic.
• Andy recalled his death and the loss of his former world, family, and friends, then cast a Petrification Curse that visibly petrified a table.
• Hermione watched in astonishment as Andy's spell proved far stronger than before.

Andy discovered that recalling strong emotions could temporarily enhance his magic, and his practice produced an unusually large gain in Potential Points. After practicing with Hermione, he joked to his roommates that they had been on a date and encouraged them to be bolder with girls.

• Andy explained to Hermione that emotions affected magic, then found he could no longer return to the intense state that had strengthened his spells.
• Andy practiced spells for an hour and saw his Potential Point progress rise far faster than usual, confirming that his emotional experiment had improved his strength.
• Hermione questioned the cryptic book, and Andy explained that emotions could matter in magic, especially in the Wizarding World.
• Andy and Hermione practiced together in the Abandoned Classroom until after six, then went to dinner in the Great Hall.
• Michael, Anthony, and Terry asked Andy whether he had gone on a date with Hermione, and Andy said yes to make himself seem cooler.
• Andy invited Hermione to the library after dinner and told his roommates to take the initiative with girls, even if they risked rejection.

Andy prepared to sneak into the Restricted Section by deciding he needed to learn the Disillusionment Charm, then attended Professor Quirrell’s first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. The class left Andy disappointed by Quirrell’s garlic-scented excuses and boastful stories.

• Andy returned a spell-principles book to the library, chose another, and planned to learn the Disillusionment Charm before entering the Restricted Section.
• Anthony, Terry, and Michael asked Andy how to approach girls, and Andy suggested borrowing homework and offering snacks in return.
• Andy borrowed Anthony’s Potions homework, finished his own assignment, and went to bed before his morning classes.
• Andy arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts and found the dark classroom filled with garlic fumes, prompting Malfoy to threaten to tell his father.
• Professor Quirrell claimed a vampire had injured him in Romania and said he had driven it away, then boasted about defeating a Reanimated Zombie in Africa.

Andy recruited Malfoy into a plan to unite Hogwarts students in complaining about Quirrell’s poor teaching and pressure Dumbledore to replace him. Malfoy eagerly accepted Andy’s guidance and asked to meet privately, while Hermione noticed their secret correspondence.

• Andy wrote Malfoy a secret letter proposing a joint student complaint against Quirrell and asked the Malfoy family to raise the matter with the school board.
• Andy enchanted the letter to burn after reading and sent it to Malfoy as a paper crane.
• Malfoy enthusiastically agreed with Andy’s plan, then read a warning to proceed cautiously before the letter burned to ashes.
• Malfoy sent Andy a reply asking for details, promising to follow his plan, and requesting a private meeting with Andy.
• Andy prepared another letter, and Hermione asked what he and Malfoy were being so mysterious about.

Andy and Hermione decided to complain about Professor Quirrell, and Andy sent Malfoy a plan to rally students and involve his father. Malfoy embraced the scheme, while Andy left class and used Scourgify to clean the garlic smell from himself and Hermione.

• Andy told Hermione they would file a complaint against Quirrell, and she agreed that the students should defend their right to learn.
• Andy wrote Malfoy instructions to seek his father's advice, find a qualified replacement professor, and quietly gather student signatures without attacking Dumbledore directly.
• Malfoy read Andy's letter, approved the plan, and decided to write to his father after class; he also resented Andy's friendship with Hermione.
• After class, Andy used Scourgify to remove the garlic smell from his robes and Hermione's, then pointed out that their next lesson was Charms.

Andy explained his plan to pressure the Hogwarts School Board into replacing Quirrell, while Hermione offered to write to Dumbledore. After a disastrous Herbology lesson left Gryffindor covered in fertilizer, Professor Flitwick began Charms Class by asking about the Cleaning Spell.

• Hermione asked Andy why he was working with Malfoy, and Andy explained that Malfoy was collecting student suggestions for his father, a Hogwarts School Board Member.
• Andy explained that people feared saying Voldemort’s name because he had enchanted it, and he agreed to let Hermione write Dumbledore about replacing Quirrell.
• Ron told Andy that Seamus had blown up a fertilizer bucket during Herbology, leaving the Gryffindors filthy, while Neville was in the School Infirmary.
• Professor Flitwick began Charms Class by asking who knew the incantation and purpose of the Cleaning Spell, and Hermione raised her hand.

Professor Flitwick taught the first-year students how the Cleaning Spell worked and warned them about its dangers. Andy asked him a series of questions about magic’s principles, and the practical exercise ended with Hermione successfully clearing sand from her desk.

• Hermione explained that Scourgify removed things the caster considered rubbish, and Professor Flitwick demonstrated it on Parvati Patil.
• Professor Flitwick warned that an unclear idea of rubbish could make the spell fail or remove unintended things, then explained its techniques and principles.
• Andy asked Professor Flitwick how magic sensed thoughts and whether changing one’s idea of rubbish could alter the spell, and Flitwick patiently answered him.
• Ron pointed his wand at Harry, but Professor Flitwick stopped him and told the class to practice by clearing sand from their desks.
• Hermione cast Scourgify successfully on her desk, and Professor Flitwick awarded Ravenclaw two points.

Andy impressed Professor Flitwick by silently casting the Cleaning Spell, then practiced magic with Hermione before their afternoon Transfiguration class. The chapter left Andy preparing to work on Transfiguration while Hermione focused on mastering the Lumos Charm.

• Andy silently cleared sand from a table, impressing Professor Flitwick, who awarded Ravenclaw five points.
• Professor Flitwick learned that Andy’s next class was Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration class and looked forward to teasing her about Andy’s talent.
• Harry admired Andy’s magic, while Ron encouraged Harry to read more before inviting him to play Wizard’s Chess.
• Andy explained to Hermione that mastering spells required understanding their principles, then reacted to Seamus Finnigan’s spell causing a small explosion.
• After Charms class, Hermione persuaded Andy to practice in an Abandoned Classroom, where Andy worked on Transfiguration and Hermione practiced the Lumos Charm.

Andy attended Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration class, where he impressed her with his questions and his successful transformation of a matchstick into a needle. Professor McGonagall’s attempt to spur the other students to match Andy’s work ended with an explosion in the classroom.

• Andy stopped Hermione from approaching the tabby cat, and Professor McGonagall transformed from it when Ron tried to pet it.
• Professor McGonagall scolded Harry and Ron for arriving late, then demonstrated Transfiguration by turning the podium into a pig and back.
• Hermione answered Professor McGonagall’s questions, while Andy asked several questions about how magic changed matter and listened to her explanations.
• Andy transformed a matchstick into a patterned needle, earning two points for Ravenclaw.
• Professor McGonagall compared the other students to Andy, and an explosion rang out in the classroom.

Andy observed Seamus, Ron, and Neville struggling in Transfiguration and concluded that confidence and mindset affected spellcasting. He and Hermione continued studying together, and on Saturday Andy received a letter in Malfoy's handwriting.

• Andy watched Seamus's spells explode and noticed that Ron and Neville also struggled with their old wands.
• Andy reasoned that a healthy mindset could improve spellcasting and wondered why Neville had been sorted into Gryffindor.
• Hermione admitted she felt inadequate, and Andy reflected on how they encouraged each other through their shared love of learning.
• Andy and Hermione received a letter at breakfast, and Andy recognized Malfoy's handwriting after Hermione suspected it was from him.
• Andy told Hermione to act naturally while he read the letter.

Andy read Malfoy’s request for help with a Slytherin power struggle and replied with advice. He and Hermione discussed Harry and Ron being caught after curfew, then Andy offered to help Hermione practice flying.

• Andy learned that older Slytherins had taken control of Malfoy’s plan and agreed to help him regain it.
• Andy told Hermione that Dumbledore would not replace Quirrell before the next school year, then wrote Malfoy a reply suggesting he invoke Dumbledore’s involvement.
• Hermione told Andy that Filch had caught Harry and Ron sneaking into the Fourth Floor Corridor, earning Gryffindor a sixty-point penalty from Professor McGonagall.
• Andy remembered that Hermione had used the Unlocking Charm to open the corridor room and wondered how Harry and Ron had managed without her.
• Andy teased Hermione about her flying ability and offered to borrow a broom so he could help her practice.

Andy and Hermione left the library after Madam Pince scolded them, then discussed Harry and Ron’s lost points and Andy’s secret plans. Andy used a passage beneath the One-Eyed Witch statue to reach Honeydukes, where he calculated that September 19th would fall on a Thursday.

• Madam Pince reprimanded Andy and Hermione for talking in the library, and Andy apologized while Hermione fell silent.
• Hermione asked whether Andy would visit Weasley, and Andy said Harry and Ron would rather go unnoticed after their nighttime excursion became Hogwarts gossip.
• Andy asked Hermione to practice flying, but she refused, and he told her to say he had been with her that afternoon if anyone asked where he went.
• Andy sent a letter to Malfoy, then opened the passage beneath the One-Eyed Witch statue with his wand.
• Andy followed the passage to Honeydukes, emerged from its cellar unnoticed, and worked out that September 19th, 1991, would be a Thursday.

Andy explored Hogsmeade ahead of a planned birthday outing with Hermione, then went to the Shrieking Shack to test his first Dark Arts spell. After casting Disease Affliction, he concluded that Dark Arts drew on the caster’s malice and decided to stop experimenting because his willpower was too weak.

• Andy visited Honeydukes and asked Mr. Flume whether professors would notice him coming to Hogsmeade on a Thursday, then surveyed the village’s layout for his planned outing with Hermione.
• Andy met George and Fred, who teased him about preparing a date, and learned that Ron and Harry had stayed in their dormitory all day.
• Andy went to the Shrieking Shack and used a book on Magical Theory to teach himself Disease Affliction.
• Andy cast Disease Affliction on a weed, which withered and grew red pustules, while he studied his mental and physical state.
• Andy reasoned that Dark Arts depended on the caster’s malice and stopped practicing because his willpower was only two points.

Andy read a theory about magic power affecting the human body, then tested a method of casting that used irritation to influence magic. After his spell exploded, he found that his normal casting had become smoother and began considering how dangerous experiments might advance magical research.

• Andy considered whether Voldemort’s appearance might have resulted from dangerous experiments on himself and wondered whether Dumbledore had secrets of his own.
• Andy sent candy to Isabel and found Hermione practicing magic in an abandoned classroom.
• Andy tried the book’s awkward casting method until irritation built and his spell exploded.
• Andy tested his normal spellcasting and discovered that it felt smoother.
• Andy reflected that experimental wizards’ books could offer useful theories and considered finding more research by wizards who had died during magical experiments.

Andy reflected on his ambitions to study magic and secretly experiment on Death Eaters when Voldemort returned. Later, Andy and Hermione signed a Slytherin petition to remove Professor Quirrell, whose departure was expected by the end of the month.

• Andy decided he would focus on learning magic before pursuing dangerous experiments on Death Eaters during the coming war.
• Jon Eberke stopped Andy and Hermione and asked whether they would support an effort to drive Professor Quirrell from Hogwarts.
• Andy and Hermione criticized Quirrell and signed a petition listing accusations against him.
• Eberke said Quirrell would probably leave Hogwarts before the end of the month, then waited for another student to approach.

Andy and Hermione discussed the petition against Professor Quirrell, while rumors spread that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position was cursed. Harry and Ron joined them for food after Malfoy tricked them into getting caught during a midnight duel, and Fred and George arrived as they complained about losing a hundred points.

• Andy and Hermione talked about signing the petition to remove Quirrell, and Anthony told them the rumor that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position was cursed.
• Harry and Ron sneaked into the Great Hall and sat with Andy and Hermione to get food.
• Ron explained that Malfoy had challenged them to a duel in the Trophy Room, then alerted Filch instead of showing up.
• Andy pointed out that Malfoy had run from the duel, and Ron called him a coward.
• George and Fred joined them and reminded Ron that he and Harry had lost a hundred points less than a week into the school year.

Andy and Hermione watched as Slytherin’s plan to drive Professor Quirrell out spread through Hogwarts and won broad student support. With the complaints sent, Andy left the matter to Malfoy and said he would organize a student strike if Dumbledore refused to agree.

• Fred and George refused to tell Harry and Ron about the secret, and the two learned that even Michael Corner would not reveal it.
• The news that Slytherin planned to drive Professor Quirrell away spread throughout Hogwarts, where most students supported the effort.
• Malfoy announced that Slytherin’s letters of complaint had been sent, prompting cheers in the Great Hall.
• Hermione worried the professors would discover Andy had devised the plan, but Andy reassured her and suggested Malfoy could lead a student strike if Dumbledore opposed them.

Dumbledore considered the student campaign to drive Quirrell out and decided to let it proceed, disrupting his plan to lure Voldemort toward the Philosopher’s Stone. He asked Snape to keep an eye on Collins, whose fascination with magic might lead him toward the Dark Arts.

• Dumbledore recalled how he had planned to use the Philosopher’s Stone to lure Voldemort and test Harry Potter’s protection, but Harry’s lack of basic spell knowledge had stalled the plan.
• Dumbledore accepted that the united students’ complaints would force Quirrell out of Hogwarts and that he had to change his plans.
• Snape told Dumbledore that Draco Malfoy had started the campaign but was unlikely to have masterminded it.
• Dumbledore gave Snape Hermione’s complaint letter and asked him to watch Collins, fearing the gifted eleven-year-old might become curious about the Dark Arts.

Dumbledore asked Snape to watch Andy because his questions about emotions, magical power, and the soul might lead him toward the Dark Arts. Meanwhile, Andy studied magic and considered becoming a Hogwarts professor, unaware that Snape had begun investigating his reading.

• Dumbledore told Snape that Andy’s questions about magic and the soul could draw him toward the Dark Arts, and Snape agreed to keep an eye on him.
• Andy studied a Magical Theory book in the library and planned how to spend his next Potential Point to improve his Charms and Transfiguration.
• Andy spotted Snape entering the Restricted Section and wondered whether becoming a professor would let him read Hogwarts’s entire collection.
• Andy suspected Hogwarts was cursed because its staff seemed to be single and considered arranging blind dates or asking Dumbledore about it.
• Snape selected books from the Restricted Section and recognized that Andy was studying the influence of soul power on spellcasting.