Chapter Summaries

After Gryffindor celebrated its Quidditch victory, Loren realized Harry, Ron, and Hermione were secretly investigating Nicolas Flamel. He lured Hermione to an abandoned classroom, where he claimed she had to eat a pile of sweets to break a spell before he could tell her what he knew.

• Gryffindor celebrated its victory, and the Twins and Seamus used Loren’s taunt to tease him as the team tossed him into the air.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione agreed not to involve Loren in their investigation of Fluffy, Snape, and Nicolas Flamel, then spent weeks searching for information while pretending nothing was wrong.
• Loren noticed the trio’s books about famous wizards and guessed they were looking for Nicolas Flamel.
• Loren asked Hermione to meet him alone in the Abandoned Classroom, where he said he could not tell her about Flamel until she broke a secrecy spell.
• Loren revealed a pile of sweets and convinced Hermione to eat them, beginning with a Chocolate Frog whose card showed Dumbledore.

Loren teased Hermione into eating Cockroach Clusters, then told her that Nicolas Flamel was an important figure in Alchemy. After they left the classroom, Hermione realized Loren had tricked her and chased him down the corridor.

• Hermione struggled to eat the Cockroach Clusters, cried, and then shared the candy with Loren.
• Once the candy was gone, Hermione asked whether the spell had been lifted, and Loren redirected her attention to Nicolas Flamel.
• Loren showed Hermione a Dumbledore Chocolate Frog card that mentioned Flamel and advised her to look him up in books on Alchemy.
• Loren decided to avoid getting deeply involved in the dangerous events ahead, though he would sometimes help the Golden Trio.
• Hermione questioned Loren about the supposed candy spell, and Loren laughed that he had invented it after seeing her expression.
• Hermione clenched her fists and chased Loren through the corridor.

As Hermione, Harry, and Loren investigated the threat around the Sorcerer’s Stone, Loren kept Snape’s suspicions to himself and learned more about potion-making. Snape gave Loren a Sneakoscope to keep Harry safe, and Harry wore it after Loren falsely told him it had belonged to his mother.

• Hermione asked Loren whether Snape wanted to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Loren defended Snape while advising her to watch Quirrell.
• Harry became convinced Snape was stalking him and stopped going anywhere alone.
• Snape explained to Loren that potions were a rigorous form of magic and gave him a bottle of Wolfsbane Potion for Grandpa Bates.
• Snape handed Loren a Sneakoscope and revealed that Quirrell had tried to harm Harry during the Quidditch match.
• Loren turned the Sneakoscope into a pendant and claimed it had belonged to his mother, prompting Harry to wear it the next day.

During Transfiguration and Potions, Loren’s guilt over letting Harry believe the red button belonged to his mother grew, and he resolved to obtain a genuine keepsake from Snape. Snape recognized the button in Harry’s hand but said nothing, leaving Loren to face him that night.

• In Transfiguration, Hermione, Loren, Harry, and Ron transformed matchboxes into snuffboxes while Seamus accidentally blew himself up again.
• Ron gave Seamus unwanted advice, then apologized when Seamus, Dean, and Neville pointed out how condescending he had become.
• Harry smiled as he held the red button, and Loren resolved to ask Snape for something that had belonged to Harry's mother.
• During Potions, Snape noticed Harry holding the button and paused before returning to the lesson without deducting points.
• Snape gave Loren a complicated look, and Loren resolved to see him that night.

Loren, Harry, Ron, and Hermione encountered an Acromantula near Hagrid's Hut, and Hagrid rescued them before revealing that the spider was one of Aragog's children. At Hagrid's Hut, Harry discussed the Sorcerer's Stone, while Hagrid warned the students to stay out of danger and hinted that Harry would have an unforgettable Christmas.

• Loren, Harry, Ron, and Hermione encountered an Acromantula on their way to visit Hagrid and attacked it with spells.
• Hagrid charged into the Acromantula and killed it after Fang led him to the students.
• Hagrid explained that the Acromantula was one of Aragog's children and planned to notify the Centaur tribe and Dumbledore.
• Harry told Hagrid that he knew about the Sorcerer's Stone, and Hagrid blamed himself for revealing Nicolas Flamel's name.
• Hagrid warned the students to forget about Fluffy and the Sorcerer's Stone, then told Harry that he would have an unforgettable Christmas.

Loren received a photograph of Lily Evans for Harry, learned the Emerald Tablet passage that would precede his attempt to decipher The Book of Abraham, and prepared to wait for Mars to shine brightly. On Saturday, he set aside the book’s mysteries to make Frozen Pears with pears from Winky.

• Snape told Loren that the Acromantula had been old and blind, then gave him a pendant containing a photograph of Lily Evans to pass to Harry.
• Harry treasured the photograph of his mother, while Ron lamented freezing in fear during the encounter with the Acromantula.
• Flamel showed Loren the Emerald Tablet passage and said he could begin deciphering The Book of Abraham when Mars shone brightly, but could not explain the text or discuss its contents.
• Loren examined the book’s illustrations and speculated about their snakes and artifacts, but found no way to decipher them.
• Loren went to the Kitchen, met Winky, and returned to the dormitory with a basket of pears to make Frozen Pears in the snow.

Loren took Hermione outside for snowball-fight practice, and their chase ended in laughter. Back in the Gryffindor Common Room, the students discussed their Christmas plans, with Loren staying at Hogwarts while Grandpa Bates continued traveling.

• At breakfast, Loren told Hermione they would practice somewhere else and led her onto the snowy grounds.
• Loren hit Hermione with snowballs, and she chased him through the grounds during the schoolwide snowball fight.
• Fred and George held Loren back as Hermione caught up, tackled him, and demanded that he promise to stop teasing her.
• A stray snowball hit Loren in the face, making Hermione laugh until they both laughed together.
• In the common room, Ron and the others discussed their Christmas plans, and Loren said he would stay at school because Grandpa Bates was traveling.

Loren and Hermione practiced dueling as Hogwarts prepared for the Christmas Holidays, while Hermione warned Harry and Ron to keep watch over the Sorcerer’s Stone. At dinner, Loren shared his Frozen Pears with friends and surprised Malfoy by offering him one.

• Hermione attacked Loren relentlessly during a duel in the Room of Requirement, but Loren exploited her lack of defense and disarmed her.
• Loren and Hermione saw Peeves strangle Percy with a Christmas ribbon, but Percy recovered and calmly continued decorating.
• After Potions class, Hermione reminded Harry and Ron that the Christmas Holidays could give someone a chance to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Ron agreed to watch it.
• Loren dug up his Frozen Pears, brought them to dinner, and showed his friends how to eat the sweet, icy fruit.
• When Malfoy insulted Ron, Loren intervened and offered Malfoy a Frozen Pear, leaving him surprised by the gesture.

Loren gave Malfoy a Frozen Pear and eased tensions at the feast, then brought another pear to Snape before returning to the Gryffindor Common Room for the holiday celebrations. Snape secretly ate the pear, while Seamus was trapped in an explosive card game.

• Malfoy accepted Loren’s Frozen Pear and ate it, while Loren, Hermione, and Ron moved on from the quarrel.
• Dumbledore watched Loren defuse the conflict, and the Gryffindors celebrated the start of the holidays with Exploding Snap.
• Loren and Neville discussed freezing fruit, and Neville planned to make Frozen Pears for his grandmother during Christmas.
• Loren took a Frozen Pear to Snape, who told him he would not need to attend lessons during the holidays.
• Snape dismissed the pear as nothing special after secretly eating it, while Loren returned to find Seamus being forced to keep playing Exploding Snap.

As Hogwarts students prepared to leave for Christmas, Seamus recovered from an Exploding Snap mishap and Hermione asked Loren to write to her and keep watch over the Sorcerer's Stone. Loren walked Hermione toward the Castle gates as snow began to fall.

• Seamus woke with a swollen, unusable hand after playing Exploding Snap all night, and Loren, Ron, Harry, and the others teased him as they helped him get dressed.
• Loren and the others took Seamus to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey healed his hand, and Seamus hurried to pack for the train.
• Hermione told Loren to write to her over the holidays, and he agreed while suggesting she take Hānhan home with her.
• As the train prepared to depart, Hermione reminded Ron and Loren to watch over the Sorcerer's Stone, and Loren walked her toward the Castle gates.

As Hogwarts prepared for Christmas, Loren shared a farewell hug with Hermione and met Hannah Abbott, who planned to experiment with frozen fruit. After giving Winky a box of Chocolate Frogs, he fled the Kitchen when the grateful House-elf vowed to serve him forever.

• Hermione hugged Loren goodbye before hurrying off with her suitcase.
• Loren met Hannah Abbott, who was staying at Hogwarts and collecting fruit to freeze.
• Loren visited the Kitchen for more Pears and saw the House-elves preparing the Christmas feast.
• Loren gave Winky a box of Chocolate Frogs as a Christmas gift.
• Winky promised to serve Loren forever, so he escaped with his basket of Pears.

Loren spent the holiday at Hogwarts, discovering that Ron quickly became obsessed with the Gomoku game Loren created. The next morning, Loren set off for the Black Lake with food and a warm blanket, determined to catch fish.

• Ron returned with a chessboard and asked Loren to play, but Loren created a Gomoku set and taught him the rules instead.
• Ron quickly learned Gomoku and became so enthusiastic that he persuaded George to play, while the students who stayed at Hogwarts gathered in the Common Room for food and conversation.
• The next morning, Loren found Ron playing Gomoku against himself with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as pieces.
• Loren packed food, wrapped himself in a warm blanket, and headed to the Black Lake to go fishing.

Loren went ice fishing on the Black Lake, but a Grindylow stole his bait and ruined his catch. Rolf Scamander offered to make fish food that Grindylows disliked, leaving Loren planning to return the next day.

• Loren used magic to make an ice hole, prepare bait, and set up a fishing spot on the Black Lake.
• Ron and Rolf Scamander found Loren fishing, and the three of them sat together on the ice.
• Rolf warned Loren that a Grindylow might have taken his bait, and Loren discovered his hook was empty.
• Rolf offered to help Loren make fish food that Grindylows would avoid, restoring Loren's hope of catching fish.
• Loren learned that Rolf was Newt Scamander's grandson and planned to return to the lake with the new bait.

Loren spent the day ice fishing with Ron and Rolf, who caught several fish while he caught none. After they left, an aged merman connected Loren to the return of Fairy Morgan and a world-changing tide foretold by the stars.

• Loren took Rolf to fish on the Black Lake, and Ron joined them with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to play Gomoku.
• Ron and Rolf caught fish while Loren repeatedly changed fishing spots and drilled new holes without a single bite.
• A cry from beneath the ice warned them that they had disturbed the Giant Squid, so the three packed up and left the lake.
• An aged merman watched them depart and recalled legends of Fairy Morgan, also known as Morgan le Fay and Morgana.
• The merman remembered the centaurs' warning that the stars had changed for the first time in a thousand years and foresaw a world-spanning tide connected to Loren.

Loren recorded a prophecy from Professor Trelawney and asked Dumbledore to explain it, but Dumbledore withheld his guesses until after Christmas. Ron mourned the carp he had accidentally frozen, and the chapter ended with the boys waking on Christmas morning to piles of presents.

• Ron kept the carp he had caught in a bucket, but left it outside overnight, where it froze to death.
• Loren taught Ron Go to keep him occupied, then encountered Professor Trelawney making a prophecy that mentioned the Dark Lord, a Black Forest, a rising tide, and a Blue-Black Person.
• Loren brought the prophecy to Dumbledore, who said the Black Forest might be easier to identify than the tide but promised to explain more after Christmas.
• Ron told Loren he had protected the Sorcerer's Stone, but Loren refused to ask how and teased him as they walked together.
• Ron grieved over his dead carp, Red, and Loren kept him occupied with Go until Christmas Eve.
• Loren and Ron woke on Christmas morning to find presents piled beside their beds.

Loren gave his friends Honeydukes Christmas gift boxes and convinced Ron that Cockroach Clusters could make him stronger. He opened gifts from Hermione, Snape, and Mrs. Weasley, ending Christmas morning in a new hand-knitted sweater as Fred and George arrived.

• Loren sent Honeydukes gift boxes with Cockroach Clusters to his friends, and gave Dumbledore socks, Hermione his Potions Master notes, and Grandpa Bates no gift.
• Ron opened his gift box, refused the Cockroach Clusters, and Loren persuaded him to eat one by claiming it enhanced magical ability.
• Loren read Hermione's Christmas card and received her A History of Magic notes, along with a copper cauldron from Snape.
• Loren opened Mrs. Weasley's homemade fudge and sky-blue sweater, put the sweater on, and welcomed Fred and George as they joked about its finer craftsmanship.

Loren celebrated Christmas at Hogwarts with the Weasley brothers, then turned a snowball fight into a chaotic battle with enchanted Christmas crackers. The group returned to the Common Room exhausted and laughing uncontrollably.

• Fred and George forced Ron and Percy to wear their Weasley Christmas sweaters, teasing Percy about the prefect letter on his.
• Loren and the Weasley brothers enjoyed the Christmas feast, where Percy bit a Silver Sickle hidden in his pudding and Ron ate several puddings searching for a Galleon.
• The Weasley brothers challenged one another to a snowball fight, and Loren used Christmas crackers to stun them with loud blasts.
• Fred and George joined Loren in the cracker battle, while Ron and Percy fled to the Castle to replenish their ammunition.
• The group returned to the Common Room cold and exhausted, then broke into contagious laughter around the fireplace.

Loren joined Dumbledore on a trip to Albania to investigate Professor Trelawney's prophecy about the Black Forest. After reaching an inn used by wizards outside the Ministry's reach, they set out into the forest to search for answers.

• Loren shared Frozen Pears with Dumbledore, who asked him to pack for a journey to verify the prophecy.
• Dumbledore and Loren used a silver comb and Fawkes to travel to Albania, where Dumbledore transformed his appearance for disguise.
• Dumbledore explained how Quirrell's search for dark magic had led him to the Albanian forest and eventually to Voldemort.
• Dumbledore and Loren entered a hidden inn, where Dumbledore obtained a key that could return Loren to a room if they were separated.
• Dumbledore and Loren headed deeper into the forest as Dumbledore described Albania's dark wizards, dangerous legends, and history.

Dumbledore took Loren through Albania searching for traces of Voldemort and explained how Voldemort had survived after losing his body. He believed Loren’s prophecy would not yield an answer until the end of the year, leaving Loren to wonder why they had come so early.

• Dumbledore revealed snake skeletons hanging from a pine tree and explained that Voldemort had possessed snakes while hiding in Albania.
• Dumbledore led Loren around Albania, then told him by Lake Ohrid how Harry’s mother’s protection had left Voldemort a weakened wandering spirit before Quirrell found him.
• Loren asked why Dumbledore did not expose Quirrell, and Dumbledore said Voldemort could not be killed and Hogwarts needed a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
• Dumbledore asked whether Loren trusted Snape, and Loren replied that Snape was unlucky because Fluffy was the only one who had bitten him.
• Loren asked whether the snakes were despairing souls, and Dumbledore said they were ordinary snakes and that Voldemort’s shattered soul would not despair.
• Dumbledore predicted that Loren’s prophecy would become clear on the final day of the year, when the old gave way to the new.

Loren witnessed a wizard robbing someone outside the inn in Albania and realized how easily people could disappear where magical law was absent. Dumbledore explained why no Ministry could govern the region and revealed that fear of misusing power had kept him from trying to take control.

• After returning to the inn, Dumbledore told Loren to stay in their room while he went to see a friend.
• Loren watched a wizard stun a man outside the inn, search him, and Apparate away with an item.
• Loren told Dumbledore he feared many people had died unnoticed in Albania, and Dumbledore explained that the region lacked magical oversight because its wizards had left and no Ministry wanted to intervene.
• When Loren asked why Dumbledore would not take charge, Dumbledore said he feared power and recalled how his youthful ambitions with Grindelwald had led to terrible mistakes and many deaths.
• Dumbledore explained that his experience with Grindelwald had taught him to distrust his own ability to use power safely, and Loren fell silent.