Chapter Summaries

At Malfoy Manor’s Christmas banquet, the Pure-blood Families discussed Vincent Crabbe’s arrest and dismissed rumors that the Dark Lord had returned. Sirius Black discovered that Dobby had intercepted Harry’s letters, then arranged to buy him from Narcissa, while leaving Dobby’s fate unresolved.

• Flint and the other former Death Eaters urged Old Crabbe to get Vincent out of Ministry custody, while Old Crabbe claimed Vincent had only been bewitched by a Dark Arts object.
• The gathered Pure-blood Families suspected that Dumbledore was using Vincent’s case to pursue the Minister for Magic position and agreed to portray Vincent as innocent.
• Sirius Black cornered Dobby and demanded to know why he had intercepted Harry’s letters and kept him from returning to school.
• Dobby recognized Black as Harry Potter’s godfather, but injured himself rather than reveal what he knew.
• Black brought Narcissa to Dobby and offered to buy the House-elf, and Narcissa agreed to discuss the sale with Lucius.

Loren spent Christmas Eve perfecting a compact storage enchantment, then exchanged gifts with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and others at Hogwarts. After Hermione showed him how she had fitted his tiny storage scales into her whale pendant, the chapter ended with the story of a wizard whose attempt to awaken his heart led to his and a young Witch’s deaths.

• Loren used Sectumsempra and Unicorn Hair to inscribe an Untraceable Extension Charm into a Basilisk Scale, creating a classroom-sized storage space.
• On Christmas morning, Loren gave Harry and Ron Storage Scales, while they exchanged gifts and opened presents from their friends and family.
• Loren received a Nimbus 2001 for Harry from Sirius Black, and Loren noticed Harry’s disappointment that Sirius had not written to him.
• Loren visited Hermione in the Hospital Wing, where she showed him his tiny Storage Scales embedded in her Whale Pendant and worried that her gift to him was too ordinary.
• Loren comforted Hermione and told her he liked the book about pet cats she had given him.
• The included tale recounted how a wizard returned his magically preserved heart to his chest, then killed a young Witch and died beside her.

At Hogwarts, Loren, Hermione, Harry, and the Weasleys spent Christmas watching Hagrid bring a fir tree to the Great Hall, where Flitwick decorated it. Dumbledore revealed that Lockhart could not continue teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and hinted that he had an excellent replacement in mind.

• Fred and George flew the recovered Ford Anglia around the Quidditch pitch while Ron, Harry, and Ginny chased them on brooms and Loren and Hermione watched.
• Hagrid greeted Loren and Hermione, then told Harry that Aragog’s colony had suffered losses but that the forest’s balance made it necessary.
• Hagrid carried his fir tree into the Great Hall, where Flitwick decorated it with magical ornaments as Harry, Loren, and Hermione watched.
• Dumbledore told Hermione she need not hide her appearance, but Loren said her choice mattered most; Dumbledore also showed off the rabbit-ear hat Loren had given him.
• McGonagall pressed Dumbledore for a decision, and he explained that Lockhart could no longer teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.
• Dumbledore said he had thought of an excellent candidate for the vacant teaching post.

The Hogwarts students celebrated Christmas before Harry decided to organize dueling practice with Ron, Loren, and Hermione. The chapter ended with Ron frustrated that Harry had beaten him by relying almost entirely on the Disarming Charm.

• Fred and George teased Percy about his enchanted prefect badge, and Percy chased them around the Great Hall during the Christmas feast.
• Draco saw Loren and wanted to greet him, but Lucius's warnings about whom to avoid left him confused and unable to speak.
• After several days of holiday mischief, Harry resolved to stop playing and arranged dueling practice with his friends.
• Harry and Ron practiced spells while Loren watched and Hermione sat out because she had not fully recovered.
• Harry repeatedly used the Disarming Charm to defeat Ron, who complained that Harry knew no other spells.

Loren coached Harry and Ron through dueling, then warned Hermione about the dangers of practicing Apparition without supervision. After the holidays, Seamus learned that his friends had fought the Basilisk without him and became convinced the new masked Defense Against the Dark Arts professor offered him a chance to become a Gryffindor Champion.

• Loren explained that Harry relied too heavily on his powerful Disarming Charm and advised Ron to dodge early and counterattack; Harry and Ron used the advice in a second duel, which Ron won with Petrificus Totalus.
• Hermione searched the Library for Apparition books, and Loren warned her about Splinching; she agreed not to practice privately but continued gathering information.
• Ron bragged to Loren about defeating Harry during the Christmas Holidays, while Harry pointed out that they had each won one match.
• Hermione recovered fully from her Cat Hair, and Loren spent the rest of the holidays studying Alchemy and Rune with Flamel and helping Harry and Ron practice dueling.
• At the new-term feast, Seamus confronted Loren, Harry, and Ron over secretly killing the Basilisk during the holidays and mourned missing his chance to become a Gryffindor Champion.
• Dean pointed out the masked new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and Seamus excitedly considered whether the professor presented his chance to win Gryffindor glory.

At the start of the new term, Dumbledore announced that the Chamber of Secrets monster had been defeated and awarded Gryffindor points to Harry, Ron, Loren, and Hermione. He cleared Hagrid’s name and introduced Sirius Black as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, leaving Harry stunned.

• Dean and Seamus planned to follow the cloaked figure and expose his face after the feast.
• Dumbledore announced that the Chamber of Secrets monster had been dealt with and awarded Gryffindor 300 points for the students who helped solve the incident.
• Marcus Flint asked whether Crabbe was Slytherin’s heir, and Dumbledore confirmed Crabbe’s involvement but withheld further details pending a Ministry investigation.
• Dumbledore declared Hagrid innocent of the Chamber of Secrets incidents, and Hagrid thanked Harry, Loren, Hermione, and Ron.
• Dumbledore announced that Lockhart would not return and introduced the cloaked figure as Professor Black, revealing Sirius Black as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Loren’s actions left Sirius Black trapped in a recurring illusion of the night he chased Peter Pettigrew, while Black began teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. After a successful first lesson with Cornish Pixies, Black remained exhausted and could not remember his nightmares.

• Loren slipped out of the feast, and Hermione suspected that something had happened between him and Professor Black.
• Sirius Black told Harry that he had freed Dobby, who explained that he had warned Harry about a threat connected to Lucius Malfoy and Werewolves.
• Harry told Black about the Ministry’s Anti-Werewolf Law, prompting Black to wonder whether he should reach out to Lupin and make amends.
• Black dreamed that he chased Peter Pettigrew through a Muggle street despite a boy’s warning, then awoke in the same strange room and saw the boy again.
• Black demonstrated a counter-charm against Cornish Pixies, and Harry and the other students successfully practiced it in their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
• Harry helped Black clean up after class, and Black said he felt as though he had had nightmares all night but could not remember them.

Loren and Hermione watched the Ministry investigate the Chamber of Secrets as Cornelius Fudge dismissed Dumbledore’s warning that Voldemort had returned. Fudge and Umbridge began using the investigation to sway the students against Harry and Dumbledore, while Percy struggled with the conflict between what he believed and whom he admired.

• Loren and Hermione visited Myrtle's Bathroom, where an Auror questioned Moaning Myrtle about her death.
• Loren and Hermione entered the Chamber of Secrets and saw students examining the Basilisk's shed skin while Ron recounted the battle to Seamus.
• Hermione identified Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge as they argued with Dumbledore, who urged Fudge to accept that Voldemort had returned.
• Dumbledore told the students to judge the evidence for themselves, leaving Percy shaken as he weighed Dumbledore's warning against Fudge's denial.
• Umbridge and Fudge presented the investigation's findings as evidence against Voldemort's return and suggested Harry had exaggerated what he saw.

Hermione sought Professor McGonagall’s permission to learn Apparition, then met Dumbledore to tell him about Professor Black. Dumbledore revealed that he and Loren had known about the Basilisk, leaving Hermione furious as she realized Loren had kept her in the dark throughout their investigation.

• Hermione evaded Loren’s questions and went to Professor McGonagall, who refused to let her learn Apparition before she was old enough.
• Hermione told Professor McGonagall she needed to speak with Dumbledore about the new Professor Black, and McGonagall escorted her to his office.
• Dumbledore welcomed Hermione and explained that Loren had first visited him after the Sorting because he suspected Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew.
• Dumbledore told Hermione that he and Loren had been researching how to deal with the Basilisk’s eyes.
• Hermione recalled moments from their investigation and realized Loren had known about the Basilisk all along, leaving her embarrassed and furious.

Hermione learned that Dumbledore had deliberately let Harry face danger to prepare him for Voldemort’s return, then asked him to investigate a possible conflict between Loren and Professor Black. Back at Hogwarts, Hermione struggled to keep Dumbledore’s secrets while Harry and Ron rushed through homework and Ron tested Professor Binns with double spacing.

• Hermione challenged Dumbledore over the Basilisk attacks, and he admitted he had guided events to strengthen Harry before Voldemort returned, while accepting responsibility for Colin and Justin’s injuries.
• Hermione told Dumbledore that Loren and Professor Black seemed to be in conflict, and Dumbledore promised to investigate and asked her to keep their conversation secret.
• Dumbledore gave Hermione a note to ask Professor Flitwick to teach her Apparition, and Fawkes chirped at Dumbledore after she left.
• Harry and Ron divided Hermione’s Mandrake essay into separate Herbology assignments, while Neville criticized them and Luna suggested they work for her father’s newspaper.
• Hermione concealed her Apparition practice from Loren by blaming the lingering Gillyweed essence on helping Lavender, then tried to keep Dumbledore’s revelations secret.
• Ron handed Professor Binns his double-spaced History of Magic essay as Harry and the other Gryffindors cheered him on, while Loren distracted Hermione during class by picking at her badge and asking questions.

Loren completed the Animagus examination, including a question about the magical inconsistencies in “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump.” At Herbology, Harry and Ron escaped a reprimand over their essays, the students over-pruned the Shrivelfigs, and Ernie apologized to Harry before Loren teased him.

• Loren finished the Animagus examination early and identified that transformed animals could not speak or cast magic.
• Harry admitted he had left much of the examination blank, while Ron said he had put down his quill first.
• Professor Sprout assigned the students to prune Abyssinian Shrivelfigs and collect grass for compost.
• Harry, Ron, and several Gryffindors cut healthy branches along with the dead ones, leaving many saplings bare.
• Loren and his friends watched Button, the young Bowtruckle, while Rolf explained that it ate small insects.
• Ernie apologized to Harry, who accepted, and Loren offered Ernie dirty grass roots to eat until he left.

Loren and Flamel discussed whether the hairy heart in The Wizard and His Hairy Heart symbolized a Horcrux, while Hermione secretly practiced Apparition with Professor Flitwick. Hermione returned to the Gryffindor Common Room in high spirits, and Loren learned that Professor Black was chasing a Flying Car on a Flying Motorcycle.

• Professor Sprout kept Harry Potter and Ron Weasley behind to remove the Mandrakes' winter socks and scarves as punishment for their essays.
• Hermione left under the pretense of visiting Hagrid, while Loren chose not to press her about her secret plans.
• Loren and Flamel examined the hairy heart from the story and concluded it might symbolize a vessel containing a soul, like a Horcrux.
• Hermione returned from practicing Apparition with Professor Flitwick and told Loren she had seen Professor Black chasing a Flying Car on a Flying Motorcycle.

As spring arrived at Hogwarts, Loren, Harry, and Ron cared for the Mandrakes while Hermione kept vanishing for secret business. Hermione later went to the Forbidden Forest instead of meeting Professor McGonagall, and Loren learned that the Animagus Exam results had finally been decided.

• Lee Jordan fell through the thawing ice on the Black Lake and the Giant Squid lifted him ashore.
• Loren, Harry, and Ron checked the Mandrakes, and Hermione joined them before they walked back to the Castle together.
• Sirius showed Harry, Ron, and Loren a letter revealing that Lockhart had hired twelve dwarves to deliver and sing Valentine's Day cards, but Harry persuaded Sirius to cancel the plan.
• In March, Hermione received a note summoning her to Professor McGonagall but asked Loren to cover for her so she could keep an appointment near the Forbidden Forest.
• Loren visited Professor McGonagall, saw Rita Skeeter's Daily Prophet story hinting that Dumbledore was the Dark Lord, and received four Notices listing those who passed the Animagus Exam.

Loren distributed the Animagus exam pass lists, while Hermione learned that she had passed and then joined Loren in condemning Rita Skeeter’s attack on Dumbledore. The chapter ended with Loren suspecting that Fudge, Umbridge, and Pure-blood families were behind the article and were laying the groundwork to clear Vincent Crabbe.

• Loren delivered the Ravenclaw and Slytherin pass lists to Luna and Blaise Zabini, then gave Hannah the Hufflepuff copy when he encountered her.
• Hermione’s Apparition practice went poorly because she was distracted by a note from Professor McGonagall, so Professor Flitwick ended the lesson and took her back to the Castle.
• Hermione learned from Angelina that she and Loren had passed the Animagus exam, while Neville celebrated his own name on the list.
• Hermione, Loren, Seamus, and Dean read Rita Skeeter’s article accusing Dumbledore of concealing the truth about the Basilisk attack and pursuing greater power.
• Loren told Hermione that Dumbledore’s supporters would not be swayed by the report and suggested that Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, and Pure-blood families were backing the attack and trying to get Vincent Crabbe acquitted.

Harry and his friends suspected Rita Skeeter would target them for information about the Chamber of Secrets, while Harry struggled with feeling distant from them. In a startling dream, Harry witnessed Wormtail turn Voldemort into an infant using a potion made with Unicorn blood and Basilisk venom, and heard Voldemort plan to return to Hogwarts.

• At dinner, Theodore Nott told Draco that Ilvermorny had received a transfer application from Pierre Crabbe, and Selwyn guessed that Vincent Crabbe had changed his name.
• In the Gryffindor Common Room, Loren explained that the Crabbe family may have bribed officials and reporters, and he and Hermione warned Harry and Ron that Rita Skeeter could distort anything they told her.
• Loren urged the four friends to avoid discussing the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk, and Harry went to bed feeling separated from them.
• In a dream, Harry saw Pure-blood wizards fly an infant to a mountain Castle with the Ilvermorny crest, then watched Wormtail present Crabbe and a potion to Voldemort.
• Wormtail used the potion of Unicorn blood and Basilisk venom to turn Voldemort into an infant, and Voldemort said he would send Wormtail back to Hogwarts when the next school year began.

Harry told Dumbledore about his vision of Wormtail, Crabbe, and Voldemort, and learned that Voldemort could enter his mind through their connection, making Occlumency vital. Elsewhere, Rita Skeeter secretly flew toward Hogwarts as a beetle, while Professor McGonagall questioned Sirius about how the Marauders had become Animagi.

• Loren identified the crest in Harry's vision as Ilvermorny's, and Harry realized his experience had not been an ordinary dream.
• Harry told Dumbledore about the vision, and Dumbledore explained that Voldemort could use their connection to enter Harry's mind; he advised Harry to seek Occlumency lessons from Severus.
• Rita Skeeter tore up McGonagall's letter refusing her visit and secretly flew toward Hogwarts in beetle form.
• Sirius told Professor McGonagall that he and James had studied Animagus magic to support Remus Lupin, and that Peter Pettigrew had succeeded too.
• Professor McGonagall questioned Sirius about the Marauders' training and focused on his account of watching a Werewolf transform repeatedly.

Professor McGonagall and Sirius Black discussed how to teach Animagus transformation safely, while Loren and his friends discovered that Rita Skeeter had been spying on them as a Beetle. The students brought the immobilized reporter to McGonagall’s office, where they found Sirius Black and were asked to explain themselves.

• Professor McGonagall identified detailed physical instruction and psychological guidance as key parts of teaching Animagus transformation, but Sirius Black warned that their own success had depended on luck and their similar animal forms.
• Sirius Black and Professor McGonagall agreed to seek additional Animagi as teaching assistants, and a knock interrupted their discussion.
• Neville fed Trevor a slug while Rita Skeeter, disguised as a Beetle, flew to the Gryffindor Common Room and hid in Ron’s robes to listen to Loren, Harry, Hermione, and Ron discuss Occlumency and Voldemort.
• Loren sensed the hidden Beetle with Magic Sight, exposed and immobilized Rita Skeeter, then placed her in a glass bottle.
• Loren, Hermione, Harry, and Ron brought Rita to Professor McGonagall’s office, where they encountered Sirius Black and McGonagall asked what had brought them there.

Loren and the other young wizards discussed third-year electives while the school anticipated a Dueling Club event featuring Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Sirius and Snape finally faced each other on the stage, but neither spoke or began the duel.

• Two notices announced a Dueling Club event supervised by Severus Snape and Sirius Black and the start of the Animagus class.
• Loren marked Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Arithmancy on his timetable, while Hermione considered taking as many electives as possible.
• Percy advised second-year students about their course choices, and Loren explained that he had already studied Runes and was not interested in Muggle Studies.
• Seamus advised Neville to avoid difficult subjects, while Loren confirmed his three elective choices to Hermione.
• Students crowded into the Great Hall to watch Sirius and Snape, who stepped onto the stage and stood in silence without beginning the duel.

Professor Snape and Professor Black demonstrated a duel, with Snape controlling the pace and eventually overpowering Black. Black was knocked into the Great Hall wall, and Snape left the stage as the Slytherins cheered his victory.

• Professor McGonagall introduced Snape and Black’s duel as a demonstration of a more typical wizarding style, while Snape warned students that real duels could be deadly.
• Sirius opened with a Disarming Charm and tried to close in, but Snape anticipated his strategy and forced him into a prolonged exchange of spells.
• As Sirius tired and struggled to defend himself, Snape maintained the pressure, leaving the students to recognize that Snape had the advantage.
• Sirius cast Bat-Bogey Hex and transformed into a black dog to charge Snape, but Snape struck him with restraining and Repelling Charms, sending him into the wall.
• Harry and Ron rushed to check on Sirius as Snape recovered from his anger, left the stage, and received cheers from the Slytherin young wizards.

Snape raged to Dumbledore about his duel with Sirius Black, but Dumbledore pointed out that Snape had chosen not to kill him and connected that restraint to his love for Lily. After memories of Lily resurfaced, Snape left with the choice to confront Sirius again and Dumbledore’s request to teach Harry Occlumency.

• Flitwick explained how Snape had controlled the duel’s rhythm, while Loren noticed Snape leaving the Great Hall.
• Snape complained to Dumbledore that Sirius Black was unworthy of being a professor and admitted he had wanted to cut him open.
• Dumbledore reminded Snape of Sirius’s past role in the events that led to James Potter saving Snape’s life, and Snape condemned Sirius, Remus, and James.
• Dumbledore asked why Snape had spared Sirius, suggesting that killing him would have torn Snape’s soul apart.
• Snape recalled his friendship with Lily, her defense of him, and the moment he called her “Mudblood.”
• Dumbledore left Snape to choose whether to speak to Sirius or duel him again, then asked him to help Harry learn Occlumency.