Chapter Summaries

At the Hogwarts feast, students and staff scrutinized the newly appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge, amid growing tensions between the school and the Ministry. Umbridge delivered a long speech, while Dumbledore ended the evening by announcing Quidditch tryouts for Friday.

• Umbridge criticized the Sorting Hat's warning, and Dumbledore defended its role before the sorting began.
• Euan Abercrombie was sorted into Gryffindor, and Rose Zeller was sorted into Hufflepuff.
• Loren and Hermione watched Umbridge as the students and professors considered the strained relationship between Hogwarts and the Ministry.
• Dumbledore reviewed the school rules and introduced Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• Umbridge gave a lengthy speech about the Ministry's expectations, which most students barely listened to.
• Dumbledore announced that Quidditch team tryouts would begin Friday, prompting loud cheers.

After the Sorting Feast, Harry went to speak with Dumbledore about his dreams while Loren and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor dormitory. There, Loren challenged Seamus's doubts about Harry by laying out the consequences of trusting the Ministry or Dumbledore, leaving Seamus silent.

• Harry asked Ron to come with him to speak to Dumbledore about his dreams, while Loren and Hermione headed back to arrange their beds.
• Hermione told Loren that Parvati and Lavender had begun doubting Harry and even Dumbledore after reading rumors and reports.
• In the dormitory, Seamus admitted that his mother believed the Ministry's claims about Harry and asked Loren what he thought.
• Loren explained that trusting the Ministry meant ignoring the possibility of danger, while trusting Dumbledore meant preparing for war even if those preparations proved unnecessary.
• Neville added that a Killing Curse would leave no chance to close one's eyes and lie down peacefully, and Seamus fell silent.

On the first day of fifth year, Loren, Harry, and their friends returned to classes while Harry worried about the connection between his mind and the Dark Lord. Their packed schedule began with a dull History of Magic lesson and a difficult Potions practical, where only Loren and Hermione brewed acceptable Skele-Gro.

• Harry told Loren and Ron that Dumbledore had refused to discuss the Dark Lord and Snape, urging Harry to master Occlumency instead; Ron added that they had seen Malfoy outside Dumbledore's office.
• Hermione objected to Fred and George recruiting students to test unfinished sweets without antidotes, while Fred and George persuaded Ron to test a product in exchange for Puking Pastilles.
• Loren and his friends received their fifth-year timetables, and Seamus left breakfast early to save seats for History of Magic.
• Professor Binns droned through a lesson on a giant war while Hermione took notes and the other students struggled to stay awake.
• Snape warned the class about their O.W.L.s and assigned them to brew Skele-Gro; Loren and Hermione made acceptable potions, while Harry, Ron, and Seamus struggled.

Snape warned Loren that Voldemort was searching for the Elder Wand and told him to stay away from suspicious wizards, while assigning him to help Harry and Hermione prepare for Potions exams. Loren later discussed the legendary wand with Hermione before the students arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts and found Umbridge waiting.

• Snape summoned Loren to his office, urged him to avoid Death Eater affairs, and tasked him with helping Hermione and Harry prepare for their Potions O.W.L.s.
• Snape revealed that Voldemort had discovered a clue to the Elder Wand and was sending disguised Dark wizards to search for it in Hogsmeade.
• Loren teased Harry about his Potions ability, prompting Harry to challenge him to a duel before Sir Cadogan took up the challenge instead.
• Loren drifted off during Trelawney's Divination lesson, while Ron complained about the students' growing pile of homework afterward.
• Hermione asked Loren about the Elder Wand, and he compared its legends with those of the Invisibility Cloak.
• Loren, Hermione, Harry, and Ron entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and found Umbridge waiting at the teacher's desk.

Umbridge began teaching a Ministry-approved Defense Against the Dark Arts course that focused on theory and dismissed students’ concerns about practical defense. Loren raised rumors of Dark wizards in Hogsmeade, prompting Umbridge to promise an investigation with Aurors.

• Umbridge introduced her theory-centered course and told the students to read from Defensive Magic Theory.
• Harry challenged Umbridge over the lack of practical spell training, and she punished him by taking five points from Gryffindor for speaking without raising his hand.
• Hermione defended Sirius and Professor Lupin, then raised her hand to speak, but Umbridge ignored her.
• Loren quietly advised Hermione to stop raising her hand and hinted at an idea they had discussed before.
• Harry challenged Umbridge again and nearly mentioned Voldemort, but Loren interrupted by raising concerns about Dark wizards in Hogsmeade.
• Umbridge agreed to contact the Ministry and personally lead Aurors to investigate Hogsmeade before the next Hogsmeade weekend.

Dumbledore received Moody’s reports on the Giants, the search for an ancient person, and the missing wandmaker before discussing Voldemort and Umbridge’s threat with Loren. Loren left with ginger biscuits and found Lee Jordan, George, and Fred testing sweets on the first years in the Gryffindor Common Room.

• Fawkes noticed a magical book trembling, and Dumbledore used it to speak with Mad-Eye Moody.
• Moody reported that the Giants had changed after Loren’s alchemical work, that unidentified people were searching for someone over a hundred years old, and that a famous wandmaker had disappeared.
• Dumbledore told Moody to return because the Order of the Phoenix needed him, then sat quietly with the magical book until Loren arrived.
• Loren reviewed the dangers posed by Umbridge, dark wizards, and Voldemort, and Dumbledore agreed to try to guide the Ministry’s investigation toward Voldemort.
• Loren asked Dumbledore for ginger biscuits, then went to the Gryffindor Common Room and found Lee Jordan, George, and Fred giving sweets to the first years and taking notes as they passed out.

Hermione stopped Fred and George from testing their experimental candies on first-years, but the Twins defended their joke-shop plans and promoted the candies as a way to escape fifth-year workloads. Loren suggested they seek Professor McGonagall’s approval, and the chapter ended with the students facing a gray, rainy second day of classes.

• Hermione confronted Fred and George for giving experimental Puking Pastilles to first-years, and Lee Jordan gave the students an unfinished antidote as they recovered.
• Fred and George apologized to the first-years, then explained their plans to open a joke shop and use the school year for market research.
• The Twins warned Hermione, Harry, and Ron about the pressures of fifth year and promoted Instant Escapism Candy, but Loren said he did not need candy to skip class.
• Loren told Fred and George to ask Professor McGonagall whether testing their products could count as a practical activity, and they left eager to persuade the professors.
• Hermione invited Loren to visit the Astronomy Tower with her, and the next morning they attended classes in gloomy, drizzly weather.
• Professor Flitwick reviewed the Summoning Charm, while Professor McGonagall began teaching the difficult Vanishing Spell.

Hagrid taught the fifth-year Gryffindors about Bowtruckles and invited Loren, Hermione, and Harry to visit Grawp after Harry noticed Hagrid’s bruises. Meanwhile, Death Eaters Avery and Alex searched Hogsmeade for someone in a portrait, but their visit to The Hog’s Head ended in a clash with Umbridge and the Aurors.

• Hagrid introduced the class to Bowtruckles, and Loren and his friends saw that he had a painful bruise from Grawp.
• Harry questioned Hagrid about his injuries, and Hagrid invited Harry, Loren, and Hermione to visit Grawp on Saturday.
• The Gryffindors attended Herbology, where Professor Sprout assigned more exam-focused work and they handled fertilizer.
• Avery and Alex entered The Hog’s Head to ask about someone in a portrait after failing to find them elsewhere in Hogsmeade.
• Umbridge recognized Avery and Alex, and spell-light erupted as they and the Aurors fought inside the pub.

Dumbledore visited Aberforth at The Hog's Head after two Voldemort-allied wizards escaped an Auror ambush, and learned that they had been searching for Gellert Grindelwald. Meanwhile, Umbridge persuaded Fudge to investigate Hogwarts, while Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Grawp, Hermione, and Loren shared a meal in the Forbidden Forest.

• Umbridge blamed the Aurors for letting the two Dark wizards escape and ordered them to pursue the fugitives.
• Dumbledore met Aberforth at The Hog's Head, where Aberforth showed him a card bearing Gellert Grindelwald's image and challenged him over his past treatment of Ariana.
• Aberforth said the Dark wizards had been sent by Voldemort and questioned why they were looking for Grindelwald.
• In the Forbidden Forest, Ron told Harry and Loren that he had won the Quidditch keeper position, while Hagrid, Grawp, and the others ate roasted meat.
• Umbridge told Fudge the fugitives might be connected to Dumbledore and urged him to authorize an investigation into Hogwarts.

Umbridge began investigating Hogwarts professors on the Ministry’s behalf and questioned Professor Trelawney during a classroom observation. Trelawney attempted a prophecy about Umbridge, but Umbridge instead asked her to divine information from a portrait of a blond-haired boy.

• At breakfast, Umbridge told Dumbledore she would investigate professors and promised to report her findings before Halloween.
• During Divination, Umbridge observed Professor Trelawney’s lesson while the students worked on interpreting dream journals.
• Umbridge questioned Trelawney about her appointment, her family’s history of prophecy, and her claimed Inner Eye.
• After Umbridge challenged her to make a prophecy, Trelawney claimed Umbridge would be consumed by danger.
• Umbridge showed Trelawney a portrait of a blond-haired boy and asked whether she could see anything useful about him.

Trelawney frightened Umbridge with a cryptic prophecy, while students traded stories about Umbridge’s clashes with Hogwarts professors. Snape then visited Narcissa Malfoy, who asked him how Draco was coping at school.

• Trelawney delivered a prophecy about an approaching storm, an Overseer, a Peeper, and the truth coming to light, and Umbridge hurried out of the Divination Classroom.
• Hermione questioned whether Trelawney’s prophecy was genuine, while Harry wondered if its figures were connected to Voldemort.
• Lisa Turpin told Loren and Hermione how McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape had each resisted Umbridge’s classroom investigations.
• Snape’s potion left Umbridge covered in pustules, and she stayed away from classes until the weekend.
• Snape Apparated to the Malfoy manor, where Narcissa welcomed him and asked how Draco was doing.

At a Death Eater gathering, Snape revealed that Dolores Umbridge had obtained Avery’s photograph and heard a prophecy from Sybill Trelawney, prompting Voldemort to seek her capture. The chapter ended with Snape offering to bring Umbridge to Voldemort and being promised the chance to make a Horcrux if the plan succeeded.

• Voldemort questioned Lucius and Avery about their failed search for the person in the photograph, and Avery blamed a Ministry ambush.
• Snape told the gathering that Umbridge had taken Avery’s photograph to Trelawney, who delivered a prophecy that Umbridge alone could hear clearly.
• Voldemort addressed the Death Eaters’ fear of Dumbledore and ordered them to invite Umbridge to a gathering.
• Lucius proposed hosting a grand Malfoy family banquet during the Christmas Holidays to entice Umbridge to attend.
• After the others left, Snape offered to use Veritaserum on Umbridge and bring her to Voldemort, who promised him the opportunity to make a Horcrux if the plan succeeded.

Loren finished his Charms homework quickly, then pulled Hermione away from her studies to enjoy the sunny afternoon and watch Quidditch practice. As the day ended, Dumbledore found Harry walking alone and invited him to talk.

• Loren quickly completed his Charms essay while Hermione worked on hers, then stopped her from beginning her Arithmancy questions.
• Loren took Hermione by the hand out of the Library, and they strolled through the grounds before settling in the Quidditch stands.
• Loren and Hermione watched Angelina, George, and Fred train Ron while Harry and Ginny flew together, then spent the afternoon watching the clouds and sunset.
• After practice, Harry fell behind the others, and Dumbledore caught up with him and asked why he was walking alone.
• Harry admitted that he did not know, and Dumbledore offered to keep him company and talk.

Dumbledore explained why he had kept Harry at a distance and asked him to lead a revived Duel Club so students could learn practical defense against Umbridge’s ineffective classes. Harry asked Loren, Ron, and Hermione to help, and Loren suggested calling it Dumbledore’s Army.

• Dumbledore admitted he had avoided Harry because Voldemort might use their connection to spy on him and the Order of the Phoenix.
• Dumbledore encouraged Harry to defend his mind and asked him to resume the Duel Club, but Harry doubted his abilities and questioned whether his past achievements had been luck.
• Dumbledore reassured Harry that he had not been made a prefect because he already carried enough responsibility, then listened to George and Fred’s proposal for testing magical candies.
• Loren and Ron began writing new Divination dream journals after their shared fable idea was exposed, and Loren invented a story about Freddy, the son of a Death Eater and a Dementor.
• Harry told Loren, Ron, and Hermione that Dumbledore wanted them to reopen the Duel Club, and Loren proposed the name Dumbledore’s Army.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Loren prepared to reopen the student dueling club as the Defense Society, with Harry named its instructor. As the first meeting approached, Harry grew increasingly nervous while Loren and Hermione arranged the Great Hall.

• Loren suggested renaming the Duel Club the Defense Society, which he said meant Dumbledore's Army.
• Lee Jordan read the reopening notice aloud, announcing Harry as instructor and the first meeting at seven that evening.
• Cho Chang and Cedric agreed to attend, while Lee Jordan also advertised the Twins' potion-testing volunteers and was met with boos.
• Harry became anxious about leading the meeting, and Neville urged him to eat and keep up his strength.
• Hermione and Loren cleared and decorated the Great Hall for the event.
• Loren asked Harry how his preparation was and warned him that time was almost up.

Harry led the Defense Society’s first lesson in the Great Hall, but Voldemort seized control of his body near the end. Harry resisted and woke in the Hospital Wing, where Dumbledore reassured him and explained that his own will had driven Voldemort out.

• Harry steadied himself and opened the Defense Society lesson with jokes that eased the students’ hostility toward him.
• Harry explained and demonstrated the Disarming Charm, then helped students practice it, including Ginny.
• After Ginny brushed his cheek with hers, Harry’s scar hurt and Voldemort took control of his body, speaking to the crowd through him.
• Loren stunned Harry, carried him toward the Hospital Wing with Hermione, and told the students Harry had collapsed from exhaustion.
• Harry woke in the Hospital Wing, where Dumbledore said Harry’s will had forced Voldemort out and advised him to arm his mind against future attacks.
• Dumbledore discussed Defense Society teaching materials with Loren, while Harry privately worried about explaining his feelings for Ginny to Ron.

Umbridge returned to teaching and defended the Ministry’s handling of Dark wizards, while Loren challenged her promise to protect students. That evening, Snape offered to help Umbridge track the fugitives in exchange for Ministry support for his ambitions, including rare potion ingredients.

• Umbridge returned to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, criticized the Defense Society, and took five points from Gryffindor after Neville Longbottom spoke without permission.
• Loren questioned Umbridge about her failed ambush in Hogsmeade, and she promised to capture the Dark wizards before the next activity weekend.
• Harry told Ron that staying calm helped prevent Voldemort from exploiting his emotions, then tried to ask Ron about Ginny before Ron hurried away.
• Snape brought Umbridge the final dose of potion, and she offered to help him gain power, wealth, and reputation through the Ministry of Magic.
• Snape offered to connect Umbridge with discreet contacts who could locate the Dark wizards, and he asked for Ministry backing and rare potion materials in return.

On Hermione’s birthday, Loren gave her an enchanted quill before they spent the evening together in the Room of Requirement. Meanwhile, Kreacher brought Sirius’s fiancée Betty Carver and her daughter Marjorie to Grimmauld Place, leaving Sirius flustered.

• Hermione celebrated her birthday over lunch, and Loren gave her a quill that held enough ink to last until graduation.
• Hermione guessed that Loren had hidden a strawberry cake for her, and they later shared cake and danced in the Room of Requirement.
• Hagrid taught the fifth-years about Bowtruckles, while Harry and Ginny exchanged embarrassed glances after Herbology.
• Kreacher brought Betty Carver and Marjorie to Grimmauld Place after secretly following Sirius’s owl, and Betty introduced herself as Sirius’s fiancée.
• Hermione thanked Loren for his gift, confessed that she liked him, and kissed him in the Room of Requirement.

Harry improved his Potions work after receiving a poor grade, while he and Ginny arranged to meet at the Quidditch Pitch. Later, Snape accompanied Umbridge on a covert mission to Malfoy Manor and stunned her as they set out.

• Parvati collected the Potions essays, and Snape returned them, giving Harry a P and Ron a D while criticizing the class's work.
• Harry followed the instructions carefully, brewed a blue Strengthening Solution, and asked Ginny to meet him at the Quidditch Pitch at three.
• Ron refused to practice Quidditch with Harry because he planned to write his Potions essay properly.
• Snape told Dumbledore he was determined to repay his blood debt, then prepared to leave Hogwarts with Umbridge for a secret transaction.
• Umbridge revealed she had kept their plans from Fudge, and Snape named Malfoy Manor as their destination before stunning her with Stupefy.

Voldemort tortured Umbridge for details about Trelawney’s prophecy, then Umbridge’s damaged mind caused a violent outburst during class at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey said Umbridge’s brain damage could not be cured, though the same treatment used for the Lumbard couple might work.

• Voldemort questioned Umbridge about Trelawney’s prophecy, but she recalled only cryptic warnings before he used the Cruciatus Curse to excavate her memories.
• During Potions, Snape criticized the Gryffindor students while Loren considered secretly giving him an antidote.
• Umbridge taught material the class had already covered, then threatened the students with cursed-quill detentions and tried to draw her wand.
• Loren petrified Umbridge and sent the prefects to find Professor McGonagall.
• Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Umbridge with brain damage caused by the Cruciatus Curse and traces of a Memory Charm, and said the treatment used for the Lumbard couple might cure her.