Chapter Summaries

Harry and his friends traveled through Australia before sailing toward Antarctica, where the Roaring Forties left nearly everyone seasick. Harry remained unaffected as the ship battled worsening winds and waves.

• Harry fed Alfonso the Basilisk and prepared Portkeys with his companions before they traveled to Australia.
• The group visited an Australian magical-creature zoo, explored Sydney, and bought creature materials.
• Harry, Ron, Draco, Seamus, Neville, and their companions boarded a ship bound for Antarctica.
• After entering the Roaring Forties, the ship rocked violently, and Seamus and Neville's excitement turned to seasickness.
• Cassandra and Anne grew ill, Veratia turned pale, and Draco and Ron eventually became seasick, while Harry remained steady.

Harry and his friends traveled across Antarctica in a magical carriage before returning to Britain to prepare for Hogwarts. At Grimmauld Place, Harry met Bill's girlfriend Fleur and wondered how his mother would judge the women close to him.

• Harry and his friends crossed the Roaring Forties and arrived in Antarctica, where Veratia used Yetis to pull a warm carriage.
• Harry, Hermione, and their companions reached the South Pole, explored Antarctica, and returned to Britain by Portkey.
• Harry and Ron prepared for the new school term at Grimmauld Place, and the Weasleys arrived with Bill and Fleur.
• Mrs. Weasley discussed Hogwarts security while Fleur talked about wedding plans, and Harry told Bill about the Antarctic voyage.
• Anne suggested that Mrs. Weasley disliked Fleur because she seemed unsuited to home life, prompting Harry to wonder how his mother would judge his friends.
• Anne remarked that Harry's mother would probably find at least one woman she liked.

Harry traveled to Hogwarts with his friends, where he rejected a fourth-year girl’s attempt to separate him from them. The conversation revealed how Veratia and Cassandra had dealt with girls who pursued Harry, while Anne explained that her curse had kept her from being seen as a rival.

• Harry met Neville and Luna at King’s Cross, and they boarded the Hogwarts Express together with Anne.
• Neville told Harry that his grandmother had praised his actions and bought him a new wand, while Luna asked whether the Dueling Club would accept new members.
• Romilda Vane invited Harry to sit with her instead of Neville and Luna, but Harry said they were his friends.
• Ron and Hermione joined the compartment, and Ron blushed while describing how Draco and his classmates had teased him.
• Anne told Hermione that Veratia had hung girls who flirted with Harry from the West Tower, and that Cassandra had helped suppress the matter because she also wanted Harry for herself.
• Anne said she had not been considered a rival because she was suffering from a Dark Magic Curse and might die.

Harry, Anne, and Neville attended Professor Slughorn’s gathering aboard the Hogwarts Express, where he welcomed them among students connected to notable wizards. After the others left, Slughorn spoke with Harry and Anne about her cured curse and Harry’s mysterious journey from the nineteenth century, leaving the cause of the time travel unexplained.

• Anne recalled losing hope after Sebastian turned to the Dark Arts to lift her curse and attacked Solomon.
• Slughorn invited Harry, Anne, and Neville to lunch in Compartment C, where they met other students including Ginny, Blaise Zabini, and Cormac McLaggen.
• Slughorn questioned his guests about their influential relatives and shared stories about famous former students.
• After dismissing the gathering, Slughorn asked Anne about her curse and Harry about how he had traveled through time.
• Harry said he had found a Hogwarts letter that seemed to be a Portkey, while Slughorn remarked that several women had crossed a century to reach him.

Harry and his friends arrived at Hogwarts, attended the Sorting and feast, and heard Dumbledore announce Professor Slughorn as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The feast ended with Dumbledore’s announcements and school song, while Ron and Hermione led the new students to their dormitories and Harry slipped away.

• Harry and his friends traveled to Hogwarts by Thestral carriage, and Harry lent Anne his scarf when she realized she had left hers on the train.
• At the Great Hall, Felix Abber was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Dumbledore began the feast after welcoming the students.
• Harry greeted Hagrid, noticed Professor Trelawney at the staff table, and joked with Ron and Seamus during dinner.
• Dumbledore announced that Professor Slughorn had returned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, prompting Ron to mock Professor Snape’s disappointment.
• Dumbledore led the students in the Hogwarts school song, then dismissed them for the night, and Harry slipped away while Ron and Hermione guided the new students.

Harry, Ron, and their friends watched Muggle films before beginning their sixth-year subject selections, while Professor McGonagall reviewed students’ O.W.L. results and set their advanced classes. Harry became Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and he and Ron left with matching schedules and no classes that day.

• Harry, Seamus, and Neville watched The Shawshank Redemption in their dormitory, and Ron returned late, watched The Godfather, and began imitating its gravelly voice.
• Hermione confiscated a fourth-year student’s Fanged Frisbee, and she, Harry, and Ron discussed their elective subjects over breakfast.
• Professor McGonagall approved Hermione’s subjects, encouraged Neville to choose Charms, and told Parvati that a new professor would teach advanced Divination.
• Professor McGonagall praised Harry’s O.W.L. results, named him Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and asked him to arrange tryouts for twenty applicants.
• Ron received the same schedule as Harry, and they returned to the Common Room with no classes scheduled that day.

Harry and his friends met their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Slughorn, whose lessons focused on fighting the Dark Arts and using silent spells. The class ended with Harry winning a practice duel against Ron, while Hermione and Anne continued an evenly matched-looking duel that Harry believed Anne was holding back in.

• Harry greeted Katie in the Gryffindor common room, and she cautioned him against favoring familiar players when choosing the Quidditch team.
• Hermione complained about her heavy Rune homework before she and Harry and Ron went to Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Slughorn.
• Slughorn asked Pansy, Hannah, and Hermione questions about the Dark Arts, Inferi, and silent spells, awarding points to their houses.
• Slughorn paired the students to practice silent spells, and Harry deflected Ron's attacks before disarming him and earning Gryffindor ten points with Ron.
• Slughorn invited Harry, Seamus, and Hermione to join him, while Hermione and Anne continued dueling after class.

Hermione earned Slughorn’s praise and twenty points after dueling Anne, while Harry later met with Dumbledore about lifting the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse. Veratia agreed to come to Britain that night, but her complaint about Gellert and Dumbledore left Harry scrambling to change the subject.

• Hermione dueled Anne, and Slughorn praised her as Harry’s best friend and awarded her twenty points for Gryffindor.
• Abercrombie told Harry that Dumbledore wanted to see him in the Headmaster’s Office, where Slughorn had raised concerns about the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse.
• Harry avoided Professor Trelawney on his way to Dumbledore’s office and agreed to contact Veratia about removing the curse.
• Anastasia Rosier answered Veratia’s Crystal Ball and told Harry that Veratia was in a meeting.
• Harry and Dumbledore discussed Sirius’s planned Christmas wedding before Veratia called back and agreed to come to Britain that night.
• Veratia complained about Gellert’s interest in Dumbledore, and Harry reminded her that they were speaking from the Headmaster’s Office.

Harry found the Half-Blood Prince’s annotated Potions textbook and gave it to Ron, who began excelling in Potions. Veratia removed the curse from Dumbledore’s office before leaving Hogwarts to handle the expanding Greater German Ministry of Magic, while Harry and his friends faced increasingly difficult sixth-year studies.

• Harry met Veratia through her Crystal Ball, then attended Potions Class and discovered the Half-Blood Prince’s instructions for brewing potions.
• Harry gave Ron the annotated textbook, and Ron hid it from Hermione and began relying on its advice in Potions.
• Veratia arrived at Hogwarts with Ms. Rosier and used a Ministry device to absorb the curse in the Headmaster’s Office.
• Veratia left to handle affairs in Vienna as Scandinavian Ministries prepared to join the Greater German Ministry of Magic.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione struggled with harder sixth-year coursework, while Ron’s Potions performance improved with the Half-Blood Prince’s book.
• Harry’s classmates practiced silent spellcasting, and the Dueling Club advanced to Wandless Magic, though Ron could only make his wand twitch.

Ron improved in Potions by following the Half-Blood Prince’s notes, but Hermione’s suspicion strained their friendship. Harry and Ron accidentally discovered that the Prince’s Sectumsempra spell could slice through a table, while Hermione tried to reconnect with Ron and the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts approached.

• Ron told Hermione he had followed the Half-Blood Prince’s notes, but she suspected the textbook and cast Revelio on it; Ron felt betrayed and left after arguing with her.
• Ron continued using the notes and outperformed Hermione in Potions, while Anne explained to Harry that Hermione felt insecure about being surpassed.
• Ron and Harry discussed the Half-Blood Prince’s identity, and Harry cast Sectumsempra, which split a nearby table in two.
• Hermione overheard Ron and Harry debating the Prince’s handwriting and gender, then felt Ron growing distant and followed them to breakfast.
• Hermione tried to mend things with Ron, and she and Ron discussed a Daily Prophet report about Minister for Magic Mr. Black contacting the Muggle Prime Minister.
• Harry urged Ron and Hermione to focus on the approaching Quidditch tryouts.

Harry held Gryffindor’s Quidditch trials, selected the new team, and watched Ron beat Cormac McLaggen for the Keeper position. After Anne suggested McLaggen liked Hermione, Ron tried to keep her away from him, and Ron and Hermione’s argument continued as Harry decided not to interfere.

• Harry welcomed a large crowd to the Quidditch trials, allowed the First Year Students to participate, and sent spectators and unserious applicants to the stands.
• Harry selected Katie Bell, Demelza Robbins, and Ginny Weasley as Chasers, then chose Jimmy Perks and Ritchie Gutters as Beaters.
• Ron defeated Cormac McLaggen for the Keeper position, and Hermione celebrated by throwing herself into Ron’s arms.
• Anne told Harry that she thought McLaggen liked Hermione, and Harry passed the information to Ron, who resolved to make Hermione stay away from him.
• Ginny criticized Ron for ordering Hermione around, and Harry scheduled the team’s first practice for the following Tuesday.
• Ginny advised Harry not to interfere in Ron and Hermione’s continued cold war, and Harry decided to leave them to sort it out themselves.

Harry and Ron experimented with Levicorpus, then braved the cold to visit Hogsmeade, where Harry met Cassandra at Honeydukes. The chapter ended with Harry and Cassandra reminiscing in their familiar booth as she teased him about an old nickname.

• Ron practiced Levicorpus on Neville and lowered him with its counterspell, while the group played with the spell late into the night.
• Harry received Cassandra’s invitation to meet at Honeydukes, and Ron joked that he would count as Draco Malfoy’s elder relative.
• Ron told Harry that Zonko’s Joke Shop had closed and that Fred had given him a hundred Galleons to check on it.
• Harry, Ron, Neville, and Seamus struggled through the bitter cold to Hogsmeade, where they found Zonko’s boarded up.
• Professor Slughorn told Harry that Cassandra had been expelled from the Malfoy family tree by Minister Septimus Malfoy.
• Harry joined Cassandra in their old Honeydukes booth, where they flirted and recalled their first meeting and her old nickname for him.

Cassandra asked Harry whether he would marry her, and Harry promised he would while respecting her wish not to share him at the wedding. On the walk back from Hogsmeade, Harry rescued Katie Bell from the Imperius Curse and destroyed a black gemstone, which he planned to investigate with Dumbledore.

• Cassandra told Harry that she wanted him to marry her without sharing him with anyone else, and Harry agreed to respect her wishes.
• Harry and Cassandra joined Ron and the others for Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks, then Cassandra kissed Harry goodbye before leaving in her carriage.
• On the road to Hogwarts, Harry and his friends saw Lini trying to take a package from Katie Bell, who rose into the air under the Imperius Curse.
• Harry used Finite to bring Katie down, warned her to throw away the black gemstone, and destroyed it with a spell.
• Katie told Harry that a short, cloaked stranger had given her the gemstone, and Harry pocketed it to show Dumbledore.

Harry and Neville helped Katie after a cursed gemstone made her levitate and scream, and Katie later remembered that the person who gave it to her resembled Pettigrew. The next morning, Harry, Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Anne worked with a dangerous Gnarled Vine in Herbology, where it bit Harry’s arm.

• Harry took the gemstone to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore was away, so Professor McGonagall questioned Katie and examined the object.
• Katie told Harry that the short, stout cloaked figure who gave her the package had buck teeth resembling a rat’s, prompting Harry to suspect Pettigrew.
• Harry destroyed Katie’s protective gloves with Fiendfyre and offered to teach Ron the spell at a future Dueling Club gathering.
• Harry and his friends attended Herbology and followed Neville’s instructions to tie the Gnarled Vine’s stems into a knot.
• Harry reached into the opening to retrieve the pod, but the Gnarled Vine suddenly bit his arm.

Harry and his friends extracted pods from a Gnarled Vine in Herbology before Ron and Ginny fought over her relationship with Dean. Later, Harry told Sirius that Katie Bell had seen someone resembling Pettigrew deliver a Dark Arts object, prompting Sirius to order a search and tighter Azkaban security.

• Harry, Neville, Hermione, and Ron harvested Gnarled Vine pods and earned five points for Gryffindor.
• Ron confronted Ginny after finding her kissing Dean, and Ginny argued that Ron had no right to police her relationships.
• Ginny insulted Ron by recalling his affection for Aunt Muriel and his closeness to Scabbers, and she ran away after Ron and Harry tried to stop the fight.
• Harry comforted Ron, and Hermione said she supported him, leaving Ron feeling reassured despite their disagreement remaining unresolved.
• Harry told Sirius that Katie Bell had described Pettigrew delivering a Dark Arts object, and Sirius ordered a search for Pettigrew and other Dark Wizards while strengthening Azkaban's defenses.

Harry warned Veratia that Pettigrew might have been resurrected, and she passed the concern to Dumbledore. Gryffindor crushed Slytherin in the Quidditch match, after which Dumbledore questioned Katie about seeing Pettigrew and asked Harry to stay behind.

• Harry told Veratia about Katie’s possible sighting of Pettigrew, and Veratia agreed to inform Dumbledore.
• Harry led Gryffindor into the match against Slytherin, where Ron made strong saves and Ginny scored repeatedly.
• Harry caught the Golden Snitch, ending the match with Gryffindor winning 380–0.
• Dumbledore asked Katie to recount her encounter with the person she thought was Pettigrew, then dismissed her.
• Dumbledore stopped Harry from leaving and told him to stay.

After Hermione was briefly controlled by a black gemstone, Harry and the professors found four more near the Forbidden Forest and suspected Voldemort had scattered six in total. Dumbledore gathered all the students in the Great Hall while the staff searched Hogwarts, leaving Harry to help investigate.

• Dumbledore gave Harry Veratia’s package, and Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room as students celebrated the Quidditch match.
• Hermione drew her wand on Ron, but Harry disarmed and restrained her, then used tongs to remove a black gemstone that had been controlling her.
• Hermione told Harry she had found the gemstone near the Forbidden Forest, so Harry and the professors searched the area and found four more.
• Harry proposed sending the gemstones to the British and European Ministries of Magic, and Dumbledore warned him that the American Ministry might be siding with Voldemort.
• Hermione reasoned that there could be six gemstones, counting Katie’s, so Harry alerted Dumbledore and the staff moved every student into the Great Hall while they searched the castle.

After the cursed gemstones were recovered, Mr. LeMay began studying how to detect them while Hogwarts prepared for Christmas. Harry learned that girls planned to use Love Potions to get him to Slughorn’s party, confirmed that he had invited Anne Saru, and asked Hermione whether she would invite Ron.

• The professors recovered the last black gemstone and allowed students to return to their dormitories; Dumbledore gave the gemstones to Veratia, Sirius, the International Confederation of Wizards, and Mr. LeMay.
• Mr. LeMay identified the gemstones as cursed objects that controlled the minds of anyone who touched them and asked for a month to devise a way to detect them.
• Neville told Seamus that he planned to confess his feelings to Luna over Christmas, while Ron boasted that he was a love expert.
• Hermione warned Harry that Romilda Vane and other girls planned to use Love Potions on him, and Harry said he had already invited Anne Saru to Slughorn’s party.
• Romilda offered Harry a gift of Chocolate Cauldrons, and Harry accepted after telling her he was taking Anne to the party.
• Harry privately asked Hermione whether she would invite Ron to the party.

Harry tried to push Ron and Hermione toward making up, while Neville gained confidence about taking Luna to Slughorn’s party. At the crowded party, Slughorn introduced Harry to an elderly woman who seemed to recognize him, leaving her identity unrevealed.

• Harry urged Ron to apologize to Hermione after their argument in Transfiguration, but Hermione hexed Ron when he tried to comfort her.
• Harry encouraged Neville to feel confident about taking Luna to the party, and Neville looked more self-assured the next morning.
• Ron awkwardly invited Hermione to Slughorn’s party, but she refused and left in anger.
• Harry and Anne arrived at Slughorn’s party with Neville and Luna, while Ron entered alone and Hermione stayed away.
• Slughorn introduced Harry to Wopur, who asked to write Harry’s biography, but Harry declined until after graduation.
• Slughorn brought Harry to an elderly woman, whose cloudy eyes lit up when she saw him.

Harry reunited with Imelda Reyes at Horace Slughorn’s gathering and discussed their Hogwarts classmates, while several awkward encounters unfolded around them. Slughorn brought Severus Snape into the conversation, leaving Snape visibly displeased when Slughorn praised Ron Weasley’s talent in Potions.

• Harry recognized Imelda Reyes, his former Slytherin flying mentor, and learned that she planned to return to Britain with her family.
• Imelda agreed to invite their surviving Hogwarts classmates to a reunion at Hogwarts and revealed that Slughorn had been their junior.
• Wopul fed Bloodny a pie after Harry threatened the vampire for approaching the girls, while Imelda criticized his presence.
• Harry reassured Slughorn that Voldemort’s Horcruxes had been destroyed after mentioning Slughorn’s past connection to Voldemort.
• Harry and Anne helped the drunken Trelawney onto a sofa after she complained about sharing classes with Firenze.
• Slughorn drew Snape into the gathering and praised Ron’s Potions talent, making Snape look furious.