Chapter Summaries

Andy studied a book of ancient magic and realized that practicing the Patronus Charm had helped his magic understand his thoughts, enabling Silent Casting. He began testing the ability and decided to focus on mastering it.

• Andy read about seven ancient spells and considered the differences between ancient and modern magic, but could not learn the spells in the book.
• Andy reread Professor Flitwick's letter and realized that the ancient Patronus Charm might have helped ancient wizards master other magic by bringing their minds and magic into closer harmony.
• Andy silently cast the Levitation Charm on an ornament and understood that his magic could respond to his thoughts.
• Andy tested Silent Casting in the Practice Room, successfully firing a spell at a wooden target and summoning his Fat Cat Patronus.
• Andy tried silently casting the spells he knew and found it worked best with spells he practiced often, so he chose to focus on mastering Silent Casting.

Andy mastered Silent Casting after extensive practice and grew increasingly interested in how the Patronus Charm affected his magic. Before leaving to visit his grandfather Norman Collins, he planned to ask Madam Bathat about the Chamber of Secrets and considered postponing an experiment with his unstable magic until the next holiday.

• Andy demonstrated his Silent Casting to Helen by levitating her, then explained how he thought the Patronus Charm had helped him learn the technique.
• Andy summoned his Fat Cat Patronus, which showed itself to Helen, and she asked whether learning the Patronus Charm made Silent Casting easier.
• Over the next seven days, Andy practiced until he could silently cast most spells and began looking forward to surprising Cedric after school started.
• Andy packed to visit Norman Collins in Godric's Hollow and planned to ask Madam Bathat about the dangers in the Chamber of Secrets.
• Unable to sleep, Andy wondered whether prolonged Patronus practice with unstable magic could create a White Magic Obscurus, but decided to wait until the next holiday.

Andy visited his grandparents in Godric's Hollow, then called on Madam Bathat to ask about Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. He learned that Tom Riddle had opened it sixty years earlier and left worrying questions about what Voldemort had found inside.

• Andy and Isabel arrived at their grandparents' home, where Norman and Veronica welcomed them and spoiled Isabel.
• After two days, Andy visited Madam Bathat and gave her a gift before asking about the Chamber of Secrets.
• Madam Bathat explained that the Chamber had been opened sixty years earlier, when Rubeus Hagrid was wrongly blamed and had his wand snapped.
• Madam Bathat revealed that Tom Riddle, later known as the Mysterious Man, had opened the Chamber, and Andy recognized him as Voldemort.
• Madam Bathat said Slytherin likely created the Chamber to study magic with like-minded companions and that the claim about purging Muggle-born students was a later rumor.
• Andy worried that Voldemort had already obtained Slytherin's research materials from the Chamber.

Andy learned about Voldemort’s rise from Madam Bathat and considered the dangers surrounding Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets. He left Godric’s Hollow determined to prepare carefully and puzzled over how the hidden monster moved.

• Andy thanked Madam Bathat for the information she shared about the Chamber of Secrets and asked what she knew about Voldemort.
• Madam Bathat explained that Voldemort had once been expected to become Minister of Magic, but instead traveled abroad, returned transformed, and recruited the first Death Eaters.
• Madam Bathat described Voldemort as the strongest dark wizard in history, even surpassing Grindelwald in his mastery of the Dark Arts.
• Madam Bathat warned Andy to prepare thoroughly before searching for the Chamber of Secrets, and Andy promised to be careful.
• As Andy walked through Godric’s Hollow, he wondered how the Chamber’s monster could move unseen and considered whether it might be a snake.

Andy investigated the Chamber of Secrets and asked his grandfather about Tom Riddle and the year the Chamber was opened. Norman recalled that Myrtle Warren had died at Hogwarts that year, leaving Andy with a name to pursue.

• Andy reasoned that the student killed sixty years earlier might have died near the Chamber's entrance and wrote Hermione asking about snakes that could kill without leaving a trace.
• Isabel teased Andy about writing to Hermione, then told the family he had a girlfriend, prompting Veronica and Norman to question him and Norman to give him courting advice.
• Andy asked Norman whether he had known Tom Riddle, and Norman recalled Riddle as a famous Hogwarts student who was rumored to have joined Grindelwald and died in the war.
• Andy asked whether Norman had heard of the Chamber of Secrets, and Norman recalled that Myrtle Warren had been killed at Hogwarts in the year he enrolled.

Andy learned that a Basilisk was likely responsible for Moaning Myrtle’s death and suspected the girls’ bathroom was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. After returning home, he discovered Lockhart would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts and would have to buy the professor’s books with his own allowance.

• Andy explained how he met Hermione, and Veronica urged him to bring her home as his future partner.
• Hermione’s reply led Andy to identify a Basilisk as the likely monster in the Chamber of Secrets and a rooster’s crow as its weakness.
• Andy suspected the girls’ bathroom on the Second Floor was the Chamber’s entrance and planned to prepare before school began.
• Andy returned home with Isabel and learned that George had taken Harry Potter to The Burrow while Andy was away.
• Helen told Andy that he had to buy his next-term textbooks with his allowance, including Lockhart’s books, and Andy resolved to judge whether Lockhart could teach him anything useful.

Andy visited The Burrow, where Harry told him that Dobby had intercepted his letters and tried to keep him from returning to Hogwarts. After showing Harry and Ron his silent spellcasting, Andy left to get started on his neglected homework.

• Andy wrote to Hermione to arrange a trip to Diagon Alley, then flew to The Burrow on his broom.
• Mrs. Weasley welcomed Andy, and he reunited with Ron and Harry, who explained that Dobby had intercepted his letters and caused trouble at the Dursleys’ home.
• Andy and Ron suspected that Malfoy had ordered Dobby to stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts, though Andy found Dobby’s behavior suspicious.
• Ron asked about summer homework, and Andy admitted he had done none and planned to ask Hermione to help him catch up.
• Andy silently cast a spell that lifted Harry and Ron, then warned Harry that Dobby might keep trying to prevent him from returning to Hogwarts.

Andy deduced that Lucius Malfoy had sent Voldemort’s magical item to Hogwarts and that Dobby was trying to keep Harry Potter away from danger. Meanwhile, Snape reported on Voldemort’s weakened state and his mission to free a Death Eater, while Dumbledore planned to investigate Voldemort’s immortality.

• Andy reasoned that Lucius Malfoy had sent Voldemort’s magical item into Hogwarts and that Dobby had chosen to stop Harry Potter from returning, suggesting the Chamber of Secrets would be opened.
• Snape told Dumbledore that Voldemort’s remnant soul had weakened after absorbing the life force of animals in Albania.
• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had used Dark Arts to exist between life and death after Harry reflected the Killing Curse.
• Snape reported that Voldemort distrusted him, wanted him to assess Dumbledore’s condition, and had ordered him to find a way into Azkaban to free a Death Eater.
• Dumbledore told Snape to stir up trouble around Azkaban if he could, and said one or two years would be enough if they uncovered the secret of Voldemort’s immortality.

Dumbledore failed to find Voldemort’s suspected Horcrux among the Dark Arts Items sold by Lucius, but Andy’s letter gave him evidence that Lucius had arranged to send something into Hogwarts. Snape brought the warning to Dumbledore, who believed the Ministry operation had succeeded, though the object’s nature remained unknown.

• Dumbledore told Snape that he had found nothing among Lucius’s Dark Arts Items, and Snape warned him that Lucius would retaliate.
• Filch delivered Andy Collins’s letter to Snape, which described Dobby’s attempt to keep Harry from returning to Hogwarts and Dobby’s warning of danger next term.
• Snape inferred that Lucius might be sending a Dark Arts Item into Hogwarts and hurried to tell Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore said Andy had provided important evidence and believed the operation had succeeded, but he did not reveal his suspicions about Horcruxes to Snape.

Snape and Dumbledore discussed Lucius Malfoy’s plans and the danger of a Dark Arts object, while Andy waited for Snape’s reply and prepared to visit Diagon Alley with Hermione. Andy met Hermione and her father, bought schoolbooks, and persuaded Hermione to let him use her homework as a reference.

• Snape questioned how Lucius could get Voldemort’s Dark Arts object to Draco and asked Dumbledore whether he had looked into Lockhart.
• Dumbledore said he would have Lucius watched and that bringing the object into Hogwarts would help them uncover Voldemort’s secret.
• Andy received Hermione’s agreement to shop together, though she refused to do his homework for him.
• Andy went to Diagon Alley and met Hermione and Mister Granger at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour.
• Andy, Hermione, and Mister Granger ate ice cream and then bought textbooks at Flourish and Blotts.
• Andy asked to borrow Hermione’s homework, and she reluctantly agreed while warning him to do his own work next term.

Andy began his second year at Hogwarts after teasing Isabel at home and speculating about the Daily Prophet’s report on Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley. On the Hogwarts Express, he reunited with Zhang Qiu and asked about her trip to China.

• Andy caught Isabel celebrating his departure, floated her in the air with his wand, and later teased her over breakfast.
• Andy read Rita Skeeter’s report about Malfoy and Weasley fighting and suspected Malfoy might use one of the Weasley children to get a Dark Arts item into Hogwarts.
• Helen took Andy and Isabel to King’s Cross, where they said goodbye and Isabel asked Andy to write and bring her sweets.
• Andy boarded the Hogwarts Express, found Zhang Qiu, and asked about her summer trip to China.
• Zhang Qiu told Andy that she had discovered their family still had relatives in China.

Andy, Cho, Hermione, and Cedric discussed the customs and reforms of the China Wizarding World during their train journey to Hogwarts. As the train set off, Andy spotted a small green car flying alongside it.

• Cho told Andy that China’s wizarding traditions had once been passed down through sects and that its wizards used wooden swords instead of wands.
• Cho described the many wizard settlements in China and explained that she had only been able to buy basic magical books there.
• Hermione joined Andy and Cho, and Andy explained what he knew about the China Wizarding World while Cho added details.
• Cedric arrived and asked Cho about China, prompting her to repeat her explanation as Hermione and Cedric speculated about how sects worked.
• Cho promised to give Andy the Chinese books she had bought when they reached Hogwarts, and the train began moving.
• Andy spotted a small green car flying outside the train, with excited shouts coming from inside.

Harry and Ron nearly crashed their enchanted car into the Hogwarts Express, but it steadied itself and flew over the train. As Andy rode toward Hogwarts with Hermione, Zhang Qiu, and Cedric, he thought about the Chamber of Secrets and planned to ask Hermione for help finding its entrance.

• Harry fell from the Weasleys' car as it swerved toward the train, but the car steadied itself and flew over the roof.
• Hermione criticized the dangerous magical modification, while Andy and Cedric speculated that the car had some self-awareness.
• Andy reflected on the magic and accumulated resources of old pure-blood families as the group discussed how the car worked.
• At Hogsmeade, Zhang Qiu explained that the students would ride carriages to Hogwarts, and Andy identified the invisible creatures pulling them as Thestrals.
• As the carriage approached Hogwarts, Andy worried about the Chamber of Secrets entrance in the girls' bathroom and considered asking Hermione for help.

Andy discussed Cedric leaving the Duel Club to focus on his exams, then returned to Hogwarts and hinted to Hermione that a castle secret was connected to Voldemort. He arranged to meet her at the Astronomy Tower at ten that night to explain.

• Cedric told Andy he planned to leave the Duel Club next year to prepare for his Ordinary Wizard Examination, and they agreed to meet once a week for the rest of the year.
• Andy reflected on his ambition to master magic and wondered whether Hermione could stay by his side on that path.
• Andy greeted Snape at the castle entrance, mentioned Draco Malfoy and Ron's fight, and learned Snape was waiting for Harry and Ron.
• Hermione told Andy that Harry and Ron might be in danger, and Andy pointed out that Snape was already waiting for them.
• Andy told Hermione that a Hogwarts secret was connected to Voldemort and asked her to meet him at the Astronomy Tower at ten that night; Hermione agreed.

Andy attended the Hogwarts welcome feast, met Luna Lovegood, and later met Hermione in the Astronomy Tower to watch the stars. Hermione wondered why he seemed so different from everyone else.

• Professor McGonagall led the first years into the Great Hall, where Andy recognized Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood among the students.
• Andy noticed Gilderoy Lockhart at the Professor Table and looked forward to his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
• Ravenclaw students discussed Harry and Ron arriving in a flying car, and Andy introduced Luna to Hermione.
• Andy slipped out of his dormitory and went to the Astronomy Tower to wait for Hermione.
• Hermione joined Andy to watch the stars and told him she felt he did not take many things to heart.

Andy told Hermione that he wanted to pursue magic’s ultimate limits and become a god rather than settle for an ordinary life. Hermione was moved to question what she wanted from the Wizarding World, while Andy left her considering its flaws and his ambitions.

• Hermione told Andy that he seemed less affected than others by social conflicts, and Andy explained that he pursued different goals from his classmates.
• Andy revealed that he wanted to master magic, seek immortality, and become a god, and Hermione questioned whether such a goal was possible.
• Andy asked Hermione why she had come to Hogwarts and challenged her to consider whether she wanted a conventional job and life after graduation.
• Andy warned Hermione that the Wizarding World was closed-minded and backward, and said Muggle progress could eventually leave it with nowhere to survive.
• Hermione asked whether Andy wanted to change the Wizarding World, and he replied that achieving godhood would make changing it effortless.
• Hermione recognized that she had come to Hogwarts because she longed for magic and wondered whether a conventional future could justify leaving her family and the Muggle World.

After a starry-night conversation with Hermione about pursuing extraordinary lives, Andy worried that he had influenced her dreams, then remembered to tell her about the Chamber of Secrets. The next morning, Zhang Qiu brought him basic Chinese magic books, and Andy eagerly began exploring them.

• Hermione and Andy watched a shooting star and discussed striving for ambitious dreams.
• Andy worried that he had misled Hermione about her future in magic, then decided not to dwell on it.
• Andy remembered that he had forgotten to tell Hermione about the Chamber of Secrets and planned to do so the next day.
• The next morning, Hermione told Andy that Zhang Qiu had gone to fetch Chinese magic books.
• Zhang Qiu brought Andy a stack of basic Chinese magic books, and Andy offered to help Hermione translate them.
• Andy opened a book written in simplified Chinese and excitedly began reading about Chinese magic.

Andy read about Chinese magic and considered taking every elective course, while the flying car scandal reached Hogwarts. Ron received a Howler from Mrs. Weasley, and Malfoy mocked him and Harry.

• Andy read a book about Chinese magic, demonstrated a light spell, and wondered whether he could take every elective course next term.
• Owls delivered the Daily Prophet, which reported that Muggles had witnessed a flying car and that the Wizarding World was nearly exposed.
• An elderly owl dropped a Howler in front of Ron, and Mrs. Weasley shouted at him for driving the enchanted car to school without permission.
• Andy considered sending Dumbledore a Howler, but Hermione warned she would tell the professors if he did.
• Malfoy mocked Harry and Ron over the flying car and Arthur Weasley's possible job loss, earning Andy's admiration for his cutting insults.

Andy read books about China’s Wizarding World and learned that cultivation techniques and immortality were only Muggle legends. In Herbology, Professor Sprout called on him to explain how to care for Mandrakes, and he gave a vague answer.

• Andy found that the Chinese magic books contained no special methods for increasing magical power, and he abandoned his hopes of cultivation techniques.
• Andy read that China’s Wizarding World was much like Britain’s and that stories of cultivation and immortality were false.
• Andy and Hermione entered the Third Greenhouse, where Professor Sprout began a lesson on repotting Mandrakes.
• Hermione explained Mandrakes’ properties and earned Ravenclaw two points.
• Professor Sprout called on Andy to describe Mandrake care, and Andy replied that they should be potted, watered, and fertilized.

Andy was singled out by Professor Sprout for neglecting Herbology despite his excellent grades in other subjects. During their break, he told Hermione he suspected the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was in the abandoned second-floor bathroom and explained that opening it might require a Parselmouth.

• Professor Sprout made Andy write down Hermione’s answer about cultivating Mandrakes and scolded him for not preparing for Herbology.
• Hermione teased Andy about his studies, and Professor Sprout discovered that he had already reached fourth-year material in Charms and Transfiguration.
• Andy took Hermione outside and told her that Moaning Myrtle had died when the Chamber of Secrets was opened sixty years earlier.
• Andy suggested the Chamber’s entrance was in the abandoned second-floor bathroom and that it required a Parselmouth to open.
• Hermione agreed to investigate the bathroom for Slytherin-related marks and questioned Andy about what he had told Snape.
• Andy told Hermione that the incident involved a Dark Arts item Voldemort had left behind.