Chapter Summaries

Luan discovered that his Wizard Bar had grown after Potions Class, giving him confidence that he could become a true wizard. He left Hogwarts with Bouncing and a permit from Professor Sprout to visit Hagrid and search for saplings near the Forbidden Forest.

• Luan carefully brewed a boil-treatment potion with Hermione while Neville and Seamus caused a corrosive spill that burned Neville.
• Snape punished Neville and took points from Harry, while Malfoy and Millicent Bulstrode and Luan and Hermione were the only pairs to brew their potions successfully.
• Luan noticed his Wizard Bar had grown by about a quarter of a segment, then left the Potions Classroom after Snape ordered him out.
• At lunch, Luan compared the first-years' Wizard Bars and saw Hermione ahead of Malfoy, Michael Corner, and Susan Bones, while Harry, Ron, and Seamus still appeared to have blank bars.
• Luan took Bouncing and Professor Sprout's permit and headed toward Hagrid's hut, telling Bouncing it could play by the Black Lake but not enter the Forbidden Forest.

Luan visited Hagrid to find magical saplings suitable for Wand Making, and Hagrid sent him to a Bowtruckle family in the Forbidden Forest. Luan began negotiating for a thin willow branch to plant, and the Bowtruckle considered his request.

• Luan greeted Hagrid and met Fang, while Bouncing eagerly accepted Hagrid’s Flobberworm treats.
• Hagrid gave Luan tools, ground beetles to feed Bowtruckles, and a Communication Flare for emergencies.
• Luan left Bouncing with Hagrid and followed the path north along the Forbidden Forest.
• Luan found two adult Bowtruckles and a young one guarding a willow tree, then offered a ground beetle to gain their trust.
• Luan asked a Bowtruckle to help him find a thin branch he could plant, and offered another ground beetle.

Luan collected three magical saplings with help from a Bowtruckle and planted them with Hagrid before bringing them to Hogwarts. He began a week of tending the saplings for Professor Sprout’s promised reward, while the Gringotts robbery remained a mystery.

• Luan used a Bowtruckle to gather willow, grapevine, and holly cuttings, then hurried back after spotting a huge black bat over the Forbidden Forest.
• Hagrid transplanted the saplings into jars, and Luan, Harry, and Ron shared tea and softened rock cakes at Hagrid’s hut.
• Harry showed Hagrid a Daily Prophet clipping about the Gringotts robbery, but Hagrid evasively denied that they had seen the culprit.
• Luan borrowed three flowerpots from Professor Sprout, who promised him a mysterious reward if the saplings survived seven days.
• Luan placed the saplings on his dormitory windowsill and prepared to care for them as Seamus and Neville returned discussing their upcoming Flying Class.

Luan returned to Xilin for the hazelnut harvest and celebrated with Uncle Neil’s family, while insisting he wanted to learn farm work rather than attend an ordinary school. Neil revealed that war might be coming and timber had become a controlled commodity, leaving Luan’s plans for timber procurement uncertain.

• Luan studied at Hogwarts, cared for his sapling, and completed most of his Astronomy moon map before returning to Xilin for the harvest.
• Luan helped Neil’s workers harvest hazelnuts for five days but found no hazel trees with magical properties, and he hunted three Hazel Grouse for the celebration.
• Luan reunited with Daisy and Sophia, gave Sophia a wooden penguin carving, and shared the harvest dinner with Neil’s family.
• Daisy urged Luan to pursue schooling and a government job, but Luan told her he wanted to learn farming from Neil.
• Luan told Neil he wanted to begin by learning timber procurement, and Neil explained that war might be coming and timber was now controlled.

Luan worried that he would soon be conscripted into the war, but found comfort in Bouncing and continued working hard at Hogwarts. Cedric Diggory invited him to join Professor Sprout’s Daffodil Club if his saplings survived, while Hermione and Neville grew increasingly preoccupied with their upcoming Flying Class.

• After seeing a conscription notice requiring boys aged twelve and older to enlist, Luan worried about being sent to war when he turned twelve.
• Luan studied magical phonetics and used Hermione’s Oxford Reading Tree books to improve his English and keep up with lessons.
• Hermione checked Luan’s notes and told him to improve his handwriting before Cedric Diggory invited him to join Professor Sprout’s Daffodil Club if his saplings survived.
• Ron celebrated Luan’s possible club membership and planned to tell his family, while Hermione defended Percy against Ron’s teasing.
• As Flying Class approached, Hermione repeatedly discussed flying rules with Neville, whose nervousness made him stutter.

During Flying Class, Neville lost control of his broom and broke his wrist, while Malfoy stole Neville’s Memory Charm Ball and challenged Harry to retrieve it. Luan used a slingshot to make Malfoy drop the ball, Harry caught it in a daring dive, and Professor McGonagall took Harry to the castle.

• Neville received a Memory Charm Ball that turned red because he had forgotten something, and Malfoy stole it before Professor McGonagall stopped their quarrel.
• In class, Luan mastered the spell to turn a needle into a match and learned the Unlocking Charm, while Neville and Hermione struggled with their spells.
• Harry, Luan, and Malfoy successfully summoned their brooms, but Neville took off before Madam Hooch gave the signal and broke his wrist.
• After Madam Hooch took Neville to the School Infirmary, Malfoy flew off with Neville’s Memory Charm Ball and Harry chased him.
• Luan struck the head of Malfoy’s broom with a slingshot, making him drop the ball, and Harry caught it just above the ground.
• Professor McGonagall called Harry away, while Hermione noticed that Luan had returned to the group last.

Luan helped Harry reveal that he had struck Malfoy's broom with a pebble, then focused on caring for his saplings and Bouncing while his friends dealt with the failed midnight duel and what they had found. Harry's curiosity about the Trapdoor faded when he received a mysterious package at breakfast.

• Harry told Luan, Ron, and Hermione that Luan's pebble had hit Malfoy's broom, and revealed that he had become Gryffindor's Seeker.
• Luan moved his saplings into the dormitory and learned that Bouncing had made a new friend and prepared a smelly gift.
• The next morning, Luan offered to work with a nervous Neville in Potions while Harry told him that Malfoy had stood them up for their planned duel.
• Harry explained that the group had discovered a Three-Headed Dog guarding a Trapdoor, which he believed concealed Hagrid's mysterious package.
• Harry received a mysterious package at breakfast and forgot about the Trapdoor.

Luan helped Neville get through Potions Class without an accident, and Neville’s Wizard Bar suddenly grew to one-quarter full. After keeping all three saplings alive for a week, Luan received a promised reward from Professor Sprout.

• Harry received a Nimbus 2000 from Professor McGonagall, but Snape sharply criticized him during Potions Class.
• Luan guided Neville through brewing a burn-treatment potion, and Snape questioned why Neville was only taking notes.
• Neville took over several steps, and he and Luan successfully brewed the potion without an accident.
• Luan noticed Neville’s Wizard Bar had grown to one-quarter full and compared the first years’ progress at lunch.
• Luan showed Professor Sprout that all three saplings had survived the week, and she took an emerald-green potion from a crate as his reward.

Luan used Professor Sprout’s Plant Growth Potion on three saplings and learned that joining the Daffodil Club required him to demonstrate how plant traits could aid magic. After planting the rapidly growing saplings with Cedric’s help, he visited Hagrid, where he shared a carved wooden Fang and sampled Hagrid’s unusual rock-cake broth.

• Professor Sprout showed Luan how Plant Growth Potion rapidly enlarged saplings and explained that Snape had improved the potion.
• Sprout invited Luan to join the Daffodil Club, explaining that he had to demonstrate a useful application of a plant’s characteristics.
• Luan moved the three growing saplings outside the Greenhouse and planted them beside the small-leaved lindens with Cedric’s help.
• Luan visited Hagrid with Bouncing and gave him a wooden carving of Fang.
• Hagrid offered Luan rock cakes in tea broth with salted dried fish, and Luan grimaced after one sip.

Luan watched the three potion-fed saplings mature and discovered that a Bowtruckle could leave magical power inside a tree, making its wood suitable for wand making. After the willow awakened beneath the moon, the Bowtruckle moved on to the grapevine.

• Luan learned from Hagrid that Ollivanders gathered wand-making wood in the Forbidden Forest at night, so he decided to watch his saplings overnight.
• Luan and Cedric kept watch as the holly, grapevine, and willow grew into Great Trees, and Luan hired a Bowtruckle to observe their magical changes.
• Under the full moon, the Bowtruckle cried out and glowing green specks from the willow gathered around it before seeping into the tree.
• Luan cut into the willow and saw its hidden magical power reappear in the moonlight, leading him to understand how Bowtruckles could make trees useful for wand making.
• After eating two pill bugs, the Bowtruckle jumped from the willow onto the grapevine.

Luan escaped Filch after Bouncing befriended Mrs. Norris, then returned to Xilin to search Merrick’s forestry grounds for a tree with magical properties. After a day and night of searching with ranger Zalan Knight, he had found nothing, and Zalan had figured out that Luan was looking for something.

• Luan handed Cedric the Bowtruckle and hurried back toward the dormitory, intent on keeping his secret trip to Xilin unnoticed.
• Mrs. Norris spotted Luan, but Bouncing jumped from his pocket and befriended the cat, distracting her as Filch approached.
• Luan returned to the Common Room, asked Bouncing whether Mrs. Norris was its new friend, then put the exhausted Niffler in the Treehouse Cabin and went to sleep.
• After reaching Xilin and resting, Luan visited Uncle Neil and learned that timber merchant Merrick had agreed to let him study at the forestry grounds.
• Merrick introduced Luan to ranger Zalan Knight, who led him through the grounds as Luan searched the trees for magical properties.
• After a day and night of searching, Luan found nothing, and Zalan revealed that he had noticed Luan’s unusual search and guessed he was looking for timber.

Luan and Zalan searched deep in Black Iron Mountain for magical wood, but their hunt led them to a giant snake guarding a glowing rowan tree. After escaping into a narrow crevice, Luan discovered a hidden valley containing an enormous, fully magical willow tree.

• Luan and Zalan entered the dangerous heart of Black Iron Mountain and found no sign of the magical wood during their search.
• Luan spotted green fluorescence across a river valley, and he and Zalan found a rowan tree guarded by a giant snake.
• Zalan pulled Luan into a desperate escape, and they hid from the snake in a narrow ravine where they decided to wait until daylight.
• After waking to another glow, Luan went deeper into the crevice and found a hidden valley illuminated by a massive willow tree emitting magical fluorescence from its entire trunk.

Luan obtained two magically infused branches from the Great Willow Tree, then returned safely from the mountains with Zalan and Neil. Back in the Hazelnut Forest cabin, he planned to practice wand carving and search for Magical Creature materials for wand cores.

• Luan approached the Great Willow Tree, which infused two branches with magical fluorescence and snapped them off for him.
• Zalan found Luan in the valley and waited with him in a crevice until dawn after the giant snake fled.
• Luan and Zalan searched the valley but found no sign of another predator, and Luan concluded the Great Willow Tree had driven the snake away.
• Neil met Luan at the logging camp and explained that Zalan had protected him because Luan's father once saved Zalan's life.
• Luan returned to the cabin in the Hazelnut Forest, where he planned to practice carving ordinary wood before making wands from the willow branches.
• Luan decided to use childhood legends as a lead for finding Magical Creature materials to make wand cores.

After returning to Hogwarts, Luan checked the magical plants he had grown and found that the holly tree had changed too. He began practicing wand-making with ordinary wood, while the story left him eager to ask Professor Sprout about the Great Willow Tree.

• Luan remembered Brad Foster's stories about a legendary herd of wild horses and planned to seek him out on his next trip to Xilin.
• Luan visited the Greenhouse, where Cedric told him the holly tree had changed overnight, and gathered grapes from the thriving grapevine.
• Luan gave Hagrid grapes, brought the Bowtruckle back, and collected ordinary branches to practice wand-making.
• Luan's roommates saw him carve and sand a wand blank, and Ron and Seamus doubted he could make a wand while Harry and Neville encouraged him.
• Luan thanked Hermione for the Oxford Reading Tree with a basket of grapes and looked forward to asking Professor Sprout about the Great Willow Tree.

Luan asked Professor Sprout about the magical trees he had grown, then researched ancient magical plants and suspected the Great Willow Tree was over a thousand years old. At dinner, Ron confirmed Luan and Hagrid had made the Rock Cakes before, and Luan went to visit Hagrid, who said he had been looking for him.

• Ron questioned Luan about the fast-growing trees, while Hermione asked whether the force-ripened grapes were safe to eat.
• Professor Sprout told Luan the Great Willow Tree might be at least five hundred years old, and Luan claimed he had read about it in the library.
• Luan researched ancient magical plants and decided to keep the Great Willow Tree's secret, suspecting it could be more than a thousand years old.
• Ron asked Luan to confirm that he and Hagrid had made the Rock Cakes before, and Luan agreed.
• Luan learned Harry had gone to Quidditch training, then visited Hagrid, who welcomed him in and said he had been looking for him.

Hagrid gave Luan a large bundle of unicorn tail hair for his wand-making experiments, while Luan continued struggling to split wand wood along its grain. Luan succeeded in his classes, but Ron found Scabbers increasingly worn down.

• Hagrid gave Luan a bundle of unicorn tail hair and explained that unicorns shed it in autumn.
• Luan visited Hagrid's pumpkin patch, then returned to the dormitory and found Scabbers exhausted with fur scattered on Ron's sheets.
• Luan discarded a ruined wand blank and began carving another, but the next morning he had to start over again.
• Luan mastered sinewgrass care in Herbology, learned the Fire-making spell in Charms, and turned a quill into a fountain pen on his third attempt in Transfiguration.
• Ron cried out that Scabbers had lost his whiskers.

Luan learned that Bouncing and Mrs. Norris had been chasing Ron’s rat, Scabbers, and made Bouncing promise to leave it alone. The chapter ended with Ron returning from the School Infirmary with Scabbers bandaged.

• Ron and the others found Scabbers missing his whiskers and put him in a laundry basket for protection.
• Hermione told Luan she had seen Bouncing and Mrs. Norris chasing Ron’s rat.
• Luan recognized the marks on Scabbers as cat scratches and took Bouncing aside to make it promise not to bother the rat again.
• Hermione apologized to Luan for telling him about Bouncing, and Luan reassured her that Bouncing had agreed to stop.
• Ron returned to the dormitory with Scabbers wearing a large bandage.

Luan improved his wand control and impressed Professor McGonagall in Transfiguration, then attended Professor Flitwick’s lesson on the history and development of Fire Magic. Flitwick’s hints about Dumbledore’s advanced spells sent the young wizards to the library, where Percy warned that students could not master such magic.

• Luan’s Wood Splitting practice improved his wand control, and he easily transformed a quill into a fountain pen and back in McGonagall’s class.
• Professor Flitwick explained how Fire Magic evolved from early magical experiments into spells for lighting, cooking, forging, and breaking obstacles.
• Flitwick praised Molly Weasley’s contribution to cooking-related Fire Magic and revealed that Dumbledore had mastered advanced forms of it.
• Luan and the other young wizards rushed to the library to research Fire Magic and complete their assignments.
• Percy told Luan that students could not master advanced Fire Magic, leaving Hermione determined to keep studying and Luan wondering about Dumbledore’s talent.

Luan continued researching Fire Magic and making wooden sticks for his fireplace while practicing flying and brewing a Healing Cut Potion with Neville. He checked the Great Trees’ growth and reaffirmed his determination to make a wand as his way into Cedric’s club.

• Hermione failed to get a permission slip to read about Advanced Fire Magic, and Luan rewrote his homework to include everyday uses of Fire Magic.
• Luan practiced basic broom maneuvers in Flying Class while Harry flew freely, Malfoy struggled to keep up, and Neville practiced calling his broom.
• Luan carved more sticks for the fireplace, then guided Neville through brewing a Healing Cut Potion in Snape’s class.
• Luan gathered more wood near the Forbidden Forest with Bouncing and checked the three Great Trees, finding that the willow’s magical range had grown by five inches.
• Cedric reassured Luan about his slow wand-making progress, and Luan remained determined to use Wand Making to earn a place in the club.

Luan returned to Hogwarts after mastering the traditional wood-splitting method and began preparing to embed a Wand Core. Hermione questioned his rapid progress and his decision to work without a wand, leaving Luan to evade her questions.

• Luan asked Brad Foster for help finding Wand Core materials near Snow Eagle Mountain, and Brad promised to investigate despite the danger.
• Luan bought two pots of Water Bottle Grass and spent a week practicing with hazel wood until he split a model wand perfectly.
• Back at Hogwarts, Luan successfully split willow wood and prepared three pieces for the next Wandmaking step.
• Hermione doubted that Luan had mastered wood splitting so quickly, and Luan credited his years of wood carving and practice in Xilin.
• Hermione asked why Luan had not used a wand, and Luan gave an evasive explanation before leaving the Common Room.